2010
• Offers small businesses that choose to provide insurance to employees tax credits of up to 35 percent of premiums (effective immediately)
• Provides rebates up to $250 to seniors paying out-of-pocket drug costs due to the “doughnut hole” gap in Medicare prescription drug coverage (immediately)
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• Prohibits insurers from dropping customers when they get sick (effective six months after enactment)
• Prohibits denial of coverage for children with pre-existing conditions (six months)
• Prohibits lifetime caps on insurance payouts to the chronically ill (six months)
• Allows children to remain on parents’ insurance plans until age 26 (six months)
2011
• Requires insurers to spend at least 80 percent of premiums on medical services
• Begins phased-in fees and taxes on the health industry, starting with a $2.3 billion annual fee on drug makers
2013
• Imposes an additional 3.8 percent tax on investment income, and a 0.9 percent Medicare tax, on families with annual incomes above $250,000
2014
• Imposes an individual mandate—enforced by escalating fines starting at 1 percent of income—requiring most uninsured Americans to purchase insurance
• Provides subsidies to individuals and families with incomes up to 400 percent above the poverty line ($88,200 for a family of four) to help them buy health insurance
• Expands eligibility for Medicaid to anyone earning up to 133 percent of the poverty level—about $29,300 for a family of four
• Requires most employers to provide coverage to employees or pay penalties
• Prohibits denial of coverage of anyone with a pre-existing condition
• Establishes health-insurance exchanges to serve as a competitive insurance market, enabling those without employer-based insurance to shop for coverage
2018
• Imposes excise tax on “Cadillac” employer-provided health plans valued at more than $27,500 (family) or more than $10,200 (single)
• Completes multiyear expansion of health insurance to 32 million citizens.
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NSA surveillance ruled unconstitutionalfeature A federal judge ruled that the National Security Agency's mass collection of domestic phone data “almost certainly” violates the Constitution.
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The gun debate one year after Newtown
feature The first anniversary of the school shootings in Newtown reignited the debate over gun control, as another school shooting occurred in Colorado.
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A gun revolt in Colorado
feature Two Colorado Democrats who helped push through tough new gun-control laws were ousted in a historic recall vote.
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The battle over voter ID laws
feature The Obama administration is challenging the right of Texas to enforce rigorous new voting restrictions.
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Stricter affirmative action
feature The Supreme Court raised the bar for considering race in university admissions.
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Voting Rights Act gutted
feature The Supreme Court struck down a core component of the 1965 Voting Rights Act.
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A turning point on gay marriage
feature The Supreme Court struck a historic blow in favor of gay rights.
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Court approves DNA swabs
feature The Supreme Court ruled in a 5-4 decision that police are justified in taking DNA samples from anyone who’s arrested.