# What is ACA? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 2, 2012, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-aca/617569 "2012-04-02T12:30:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2012, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-aca/617569/1 "2012-04-02T12:30:13Z")
I’ve seen this abbreviation being used in the health-care threads but don’t know what it means; googling didn’t help. ---
**Author:** ![lazybratsche](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ba8739/32.png) [@lazybratsche](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lazybratsche)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2012, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-aca/617569/2 "2012-04-02T12:35:48Z")
I would assume ACA is “Affordable Car Act”, the big health care bill that was passed in 2009. I.e. “Obamacare”. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2012, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-aca/617569/3 "2012-04-02T13:30:02Z")
> [@lazybratsche](#): > > I would assume ACA is “Affordable Car Act”, the big health care bill that was passed in 2009. I.e. “Obamacare”. 😃 Nice typo. That would have been Cash for Clunkers…? but yes, “Affordable Care Act” is the abbreviated name used for the healthcare legislation by those who do not want to personalize it. (At least they did not do like with PATRIOT and PROTECT and fabricate a convoluted acronym to make it be the HEALTHY Act or something of the sort…) ---
**Author:** ![freckafree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/freckafree/32/3050_2.png) [@freckafree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/freckafree)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2012, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-aca/617569/4 "2012-04-02T13:36:57Z")
The full name is the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, but for some reason, the PP never gets tacked onto the ACA. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2012, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-aca/617569/5 "2012-04-02T13:50:21Z")
You watch your mouth! ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2012, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-aca/617569/6 "2012-04-02T17:23:40Z")
thanks, all. makes sense once you hear it. ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2012, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-aca/617569/7 "2012-04-02T17:42:54Z")
> [@lazybratsche](#): > > I would assume ACA is “Affordable Car Act”, the big health care bill that was passed in 2009. I.e. “Obamacare”. I thought it was the Affordable Call-Girl Act, passed because legislators were upset at the high prices charged by desirable DC prostitutes. ---
**Author:** ![isaiahrobinson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/85e7bf/32.png) [@isaiahrobinson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/isaiahrobinson)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2012, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-aca/617569/8 "2012-04-02T18:26:34Z")
Back when the law passed, the term “Obamacare” was only being used by opponents of the bill to disparage it. It was only ever said with dripping hostility. Supporters of the bill called it “health care reform” or the “health care bill” while it was in the process of being passed, but obviously they couldn’t call it those things once it became law. So they tried to come up with a different name. The full name of the Act is the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which is obviously too long, and PPACA looks ugly as well, so they started calling it the “Affordable Care Act” or ACA. It never really caught on and nowadays everyone just calls it Obamacare, including its supporters.