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The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, known by many as the Obamacare or the Affordable Care Act (ACA), is a 2010 federal law which establishes protections for citizens with their health insurance, an expansion of health care coverage and standards for care by doctors and hospitals. Most of these protections are in effect as to date and the care standards are being phased in over time. By the year 2014, it was mandatory for every American citizen to buy health insurance through individual effort, employer-based insurance or government policies.

As per the law, tax credits are offered to people who purchase health coverage through the State Exchanges and it is based on one's income. Anyone with an income below four times the federal poverty level, which in 2010 when the text book An Introduction to the Administrative Applications of Computers was written, those making between $10,800 and $44,000 annually, or families of more than four making between $22,000 and $88,00 per year, are eligible for these tax credits when filing their federal income taxes. Individuals, or families, earning lower amounts will pay no more than 3% to 4% of their total income for a State Exchange plan, and those earning upper amounts will pay 9.8% of their total income.

This act has brought about many financial effects. It has helped slow down the rising rate of health care costs, increased the rate of hiring in the health sector and increased the worker's pay. Affording dependents the opportunity to stay on their parents health plan until the age of 26, minimizing the debt they may go into while they are in college or just starting out. It provided those over 65 large discounts up to 50% to purchase name brand drugs, and expand Medicaid to those without children. Those under the age of 26 can no longer be denied coverage for pre-existing conditions as of 2014. These small steps most likely had a positive effect on the unemployment rates going down as well as the productiveness in the work place. The public can get the help they need, take time off to care for children, and give a piece of mind that they are covered should something come up with their health, which would all result in a more engaged workforce.

Though there are positives with the ACA implementation, there were some negative impacts for employers. The act states that any employer who has employed 50 or more workers working 30 hours or more per week must be covered by an approved health insurance policy. Some employers may learn of these additional costs and look for ways to cut the burden. They reduce the hours worked for employees so as to avoid reaching the 30hours worked per employee mark or even go to the limits of even sacking some of these employees. This can hurt the economy in that it increases the level of unemployment.

The positives with ACA outweigh the negatives, as the public has one less thing to worry about knowing they will get the care they need without going completely into debt. It offers insurance to employed, non-employed, homeless, and the elderly. It is a step in the right direction for the United States to keep their citizens healthy and productive members of society.