Russel Sage Foundation

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, commonly referred to as the ACA, was the most significant reform of the American health care system since the 1965 passage of Medicare and Medicaid. Although focused on changing various components of the health care system, the ACA affected a broad variety of social institutions and societal relationships. Connections between states and the federal government, between governments and health care providers, between governments and individuals, and between individuals and firms all were altered by the ACA. For an upcoming issue of the RSF Journal, political scientist Andrea Campbell and economist Lara Shore-Sheppard will organize a symposium and co-edit the issue on the social, political, and economic effects of the ACA. Contributors will investigate the impacts of the law on societal institutions and on fundamental societal relationships.