Swimming upstream? Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the cultural ascendancy of public health.

摘要

After months of intense political infighting and widespread public interest and commentary, President Barack Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) into law on March 23,2010. The law has been applauded by supporters, and attacked by critics, as the most comprehensive public health care reform in US history. Such attention is not misplaced. Its ultimate impact may very well rival that of Medicare and Medicaid passed more than 40 years ago. PPACA's scope includes provisions aimed at increasing access to medical care, introducing cost containment mechanisms into the public payer system (ie, Medicare and Medicaid), and reforming private insurance.