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or their relatives have avoided care were enrolled in Medi- care or Medicaid, 29 percent were covered by plans offered by the private market, and 22 percent had employer-spon- sored insurance.” 2 A solution to this problem has proven elusive. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, passed by Congress in 2010, was designed in part to address the exploding costs of health care and, at the same time, to expand access to health insurance. However, the legisla- tion—popularly known as Obamacare—has both supporters and detractors. Supporters note that it succeeded in providing health insurance to over 20 million people who

“The whole issue of health care is very complicated. There have been seven

Presidents who've tried to get health care reform passed.” 3 —Valerie Jarrett, former senior advisor to President Barack Obama

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Contemporary Issues: Health Care