Adverse Reactions: Structure, Philosophy, and Outcomes of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act

Abstract

On March 24th, 2010, President Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, declaring “everybody should have some basic security when it comes to their health care.” This Note provides legal scholarship’s first comprehensive examination of this complex legislation. Second, it reframes the bill by proposing that its miscellaneous-seeming provisions are designed to protect a single, central provision: the ban on health discrimination. Finally, it argues that underlying economic forces will likely cause PPACA to do more harm than good. While health reform may ultimately prove successful, America has good reason to be concerned.