Affordable Care Act of 2010

Brief History of this Legislation -- How it Became Law

When the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was signed into law by President Barack Obama in March, 2010, the legislative process was saturated with tension and heated rhetoric. After a bitter, chaotic period in which legislators attempted to hold "town hall" meetings to explain the benefits of the play -- and organized disruptions at those meetings set a nasty tone -- it squeaked through the U.S. Congress with hardly a vote to spare. It received no votes from Republican members of the House of Representatives and barely made it through the House (219-212), with all 178 Republicans voting "no." Not one Republican in the U.S. Senate supported the ACA; the vote was 60 Democrats to 39 Republicans.

Why was this healthcare legislation so unpopular with conservatives? The answer to that question is many-faceted, and likely boils...
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