Tortuously enacted 2010 law whose primary purpose is to ensure universal access to health care, by way of a mandate that all individuals have health insurance. Insurance may be provided through employment or purchased individually. Individuals may buy a health plan directly from an insurer or through a state or federal insurance exchange. Those who cannot afford to buy health insurance will be partially or fully subsidized by the government. Also known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA).