Health Care in America
“I am not the first President to take up this cause, but I am determined to be the last.”
Healthcare Speech Intro
Breaking: The Supreme Court Upholds A Key Part of the Affordable Care Act. Follow along for the latest news here.
Watch President Obama's Statement on the Supreme Court Affordable Care Act Ruling
The aim was simple: That every American could share in the promise of quality health care.
Healthcare Timeline
1912
![President Theodore Roosevelt campaigns on national insurance.](https://swap.stanford.edu/was/20170911010949im_/https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/image/convention_aug08_2_631.jpg)
1934
![Franklin D Roosevelt](https://swap.stanford.edu/was/20170911010949im_/https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/image/1000509261001_1628429998001_bio-biography-13-world-leaders-franklin-d-roosevelt-sf.jpg)
1945
![President Truman](https://swap.stanford.edu/was/20170911010949im_/https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/image/4957974650_150027c8c2_z.jpg)
1955
1961
1965
1965
![Lyndon Johnson signing Medicare bill, with Harry Truman, July 30, 1965](https://swap.stanford.edu/was/20170911010949im_/https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/image/lyndon_johnson_signing_medicare_bill_with_harry_truman_july_30_1965.jpg)
1972
![Richard M. Nixon posing with his cabinet in the cabinet room in the White House.](https://swap.stanford.edu/was/20170911010949im_/https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/image/richard_m._nixon_posing_with_his_cabinet_in_the_cabinet_room_in_the_white_house._-_nara_-_194353.jpg)
1978
![Senator Edward Kennedy with President Barack Obama 4-21-09](https://swap.stanford.edu/was/20170911010949im_/https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/image/senator_edward_kennedy_with_president_barack_obama_4-21-09.jpg)
1992
1993
2009
2009
Read The President's Speech
2010
2010
2010
![Obama signs health care bill in the White House](https://swap.stanford.edu/was/20170911010949im_/https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/image/obama_signs_health_care-20100323.jpg)
2010
Watch the Video
2010
Watch the Video
2011
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2011
Watch the Video
2012
Read About the Court's Decision
2012
Watch the Video
2013
2013
Visit the Marketplace
2014
Watch the Video
2014
Read the News
2014
Read the News
2014
Read the Report
2015
See the Numbers
2015
Read the News
Test Yourself:
How Much Do You Know About Health Reform?
![Health Care in America - Who Said It Quiz Image](/was/20170911010949im_/https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/image/quizzes_who_said_it.jpg)
Who said it? A century of attempts to reform our health care system
For nearly 100 years, American Presidents from both political parties tried to reform our health care system. On March 23, 2010, President Obama finally did by signing the Affordable Care Act into law, which has helped millions of Americans gain access to quality, affordable health coverage. Take this quiz to test your knowledge about what past Presidents have said about the need to fix our health care system. You might be surprised by some of the answers.
![](/was/20170911010949im_/https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/tout.jpg)
Love charts? See if you can guess what these ones are showing
We’ve pulled together a batch of charts and images, and removed the titles and labels. See if you can guess the story each of them tells – then challenge your chart-loving friends to take it, too. We guarantee you’ll learn something that surprises you.
A Letter to the President from Senator Ted Kennedy
After Health Reform: Your Day-to-Day Life
For millions of Americans, health reform has meant finally having access to the preventive services that will keep them — and their families — healthy for good. In the day-to-day, that means getting regular check ups and screenings. In the long run, it means safeguarding against chronic diseases like heart disease, cancer, and diabetes. (Learn about other preventive services here.)
That's a big deal.
There's something you can do right now to help promote a better, smarter, and healthier health care system — and help make some of the unsung benefits of health insurance clear. Post a #HealthySelfie on your social media channels, showing yourself working out, eating healthfully, or heading to the doctor's office for a check-up. Anything that might move your friends and followers to follow your lead.
Learn more about our Healthy Self campaign (and check out Secretary Burwell's #HealthySelfie), and follow along here to find some ways you can take advantage of preventive care to be your healthiest self.
When Sarah turned 26, she was no longer covered under her family’s health insurance plan. The Medi-Cal coverage she was able to sign up for ended up saving her life.
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Loren, a self-employed woman from Kihei, Hawaii, now has the highest level of coverage for less than $250 a month. “I could actually have a kid without financial ruin now,” she wrote the President.
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Now that health insurance companies are required to cover pre-existing conditions, Deborah was able to secure her own health plan and start a business from the comfort of her home.
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Health reform came just in time for Katherine – self-employed for 32 years — and her family. Today, her family can afford to keep their business and their home.
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Read more of the stories of Americans whose lives health reform has improved below.