Lost in the ACA: Bit Parts in a Landmark Law

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) is a mosaic across a spectrum of health policy domains. The law contains hundreds of smaller and mostly unnoticed reforms aimed at nearly every segment of American health policy. Ten years later, these provisions include successes, failures, and mixed bags, which should be considered in any full assessment of the ACA. This article examines 11 from each of these 3 categories, drawn from 9 of the ACA's 10 titles. These mininarratives deepen recognition that the ACA is our best example of comprehensive health reform and defies simplistic judgments.