Remaking the American Health Care System: A Positive Reflection on the Affordable Care Act with emphasis on Mental Health Care

Health care reform under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA, ACA) of 2010 may be the most significant health care-related legislation enacted since the establishment of Medicare and Medicaid several decades ago. Over two years ago the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the individual mandate of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. This legislation has emerged as a significant and ambitious undertaking for all levels of the U.S. government. With the need to accommodate the estimated 30 million people projected over time to become newly insured it is increasingly important to understand the necessity of reform, how the legislation has been interpreted and implemented to fit the goals of the federal, state, and local governments, and what the potential benefits and consequences of changing the system are, in particular, as it relates to mental health care.