The Affordable Care Act does lots of important things including:

1. Offering Americans a number of new benefits, rights, and protections in regards to their healthcare.

2. Setting up a Health Insurance Marketplace (HealthCare.Gov) where Americans can purchase federally regulated and subsidized Health Insurance during open enrollment.

3. Expanding Medicaid to all adults in many states.

4. Improving Medicare for seniors and those with long-term disabilities.

5. Expanding employer coverage to millions of employees.

6. Requiring most people to have coverage beginning in 2014 in order to get an exemption, or pay a fee.

7. Introducing new taxes and tax breaks, among other provisions.

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Important Things To Know:

Every year during an annual open enrollment period people can obtain coverage through the health insurance marketplace, or Shop Outside Of The Marketplace.

This year open enrollment starts on November 1st, 2015 and ends January 31st,2016.

Many Americans making under 400% of the federal poverty level (FPL) will qualify for cost assistance subsidies through the marketplace.

Cost assistance comes in three forms: Premium tax credits for reduced premium costs, cost sharing subsidies for reduced out-of-pocket costs, and both Medicaid and CHIP.