<P> The ACA 's major provisions came into force in 2014 . By 2016 , the uninsured share of the population had roughly halved , with estimates ranging from 20 -- 24 million additional people covered during 2016 . The increased coverage was due , roughly equally , to an expansion of Medicaid eligibility and to major changes to individual insurance markets . Both involved new spending , funded through a combination of new taxes and cuts to Medicare provider rates and Medicare Advantage . Several Congressional Budget Office reports said that overall these provisions reduced the budget deficit , that repealing the ACA would increase the deficit , and that the law reduced income inequality by taxing primarily the top 1 % to fund roughly $600 in benefits on average to families in the bottom 40 % of the income distribution . The law also enacted a host of delivery system reforms intended to constrain healthcare costs and improve quality . After the law went into effect , increases in overall healthcare spending slowed , including premiums for employer - based insurance plans . </P>
<P> The ACA 's major provisions came into force in 2014 . By 2016 , the uninsured share of the population had roughly halved , with estimates ranging from 20 -- 24 million additional people covered during 2016 . The increased coverage was due , roughly equally , to an expansion of Medicaid eligibility and to major changes to individual insurance markets . Both involved new spending , funded through a combination of new taxes and cuts to Medicare provider rates and Medicare Advantage . Several Congressional Budget Office reports said that overall these provisions reduced the budget deficit , that repealing the ACA would increase the deficit , and that the law reduced income inequality by taxing primarily the top 1 % to fund roughly $600 in benefits on average to families in the bottom 40 % of the income distribution . The law also enacted a host of delivery system reforms intended to constrain healthcare costs and improve quality . After the law went into effect , increases in overall healthcare spending slowed , including premiums for employer - based insurance plans . </P>
when did the affordable care act became effective
when did the affordable care act became effective
2014
2014