--- title: The Affordable Care Act: 11 Numbers You Need to Know description: The Affordable Care Act turned 5 today, but that’s not the most important number you need to know about President Obama's health care law. canonical: https://time.com/3752486/affordable-care-act-fifth-anniversary/ author: Tessa Berenson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-03-21T10:00:24.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T05:19:18.684Z article:section: Politics og:title: 11 Numbers to Explain Obamacare on its Fifth Anniversary og:description: The Affordable Care Act turned 5 today, but that’s not the most important number you need to know about President Obama's health care law. og:url: https://time.com/3752486/affordable-care-act-fifth-anniversary/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt072d83d129e815ee/69869de9cd68487ac7095e09/healthcare-gov-2.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4000 og:image:height: 2250 og:image:alt: Marketplace guide Jim Prim works on the Healthcare.gov federal enrollment website as he helps a resident sign up for a health insurance plan under the Affordable Care Act at an enrollment event in Milford, Delaware on March 27, 2014. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 11 Numbers to Explain Obamacare on its Fifth Anniversary twitter:description: The Affordable Care Act turned 5 today, but that’s not the most important number you need to know about President Obama's health care law. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt072d83d129e815ee/69869de9cd68487ac7095e09/healthcare-gov-2.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 11 Numbers to Explain Obamacare on its Fifth Anniversary > Sponsored content. 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Brief is free at time.com/newsletters.  by [Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Mar 21, 2015 10:00 AM UTC  Marketplace guide Jim Prim works on the Healthcare.gov federal enrollment website as he helps a resident sign up for a health insurance plan under the Affordable Care Act at an enrollment event in Milford, Del. on March 27, 2014. Marketplace guide Jim Prim works on the Healthcare.gov federal enrollment website as he helps a resident sign up for a health insurance plan under the Affordable Care Act at an enrollment event in Milford, Del. on March 27, 2014. Andrew Harrer—Bloomberg/Getty Images  by [Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Mar 21, 2015 10:00 AM UTC The Affordable Care Act turned five years old Saturday, but that’s not the most important number you need to know about President Obama’s controversial health care law. To mark the law’s anniversary, here are 11 numbers you need to know to understand the law: **$142 billion**: What the Congressional Budget Office projects the law [will cost](http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2015/03/09/obamacares-cost-is-falling-as-fewer-receive-coverage-under-health-care-law-cbo-says/%20) over the next decade **16.4 million**: Number of previously uninsured Americans who have [gotten coverage](http://time.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/ib%5Funinsured%5Fchange.pdf%20) under the law **2.3 million**: Number of previously uninsured young adults, ages 19-25, who have [gained health insurance](http://time.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/ib%5Funinsured%5Fchange.pdf%20) through the under 26 provision, which allows them to stay on their parents’ plan **29**: Current number of states that [accepted the law’s Medicaid expansion](http://kff.org/health-reform/state-indicator/state-activity-around-expanding-medicaid-under-the-affordable-care-act/%20) (including Washington, D.C.) **24,000**: High-end estimate of how many lives the law could save [per year](http://www.healthinsurance.org/blog/2014/05/05/could-obamacare-save-24000-lives-a-year/%20) by increasing the number of insured Americans **50+** : Number of times the GOP-controlled House has [voted to repeal the law](http://www.npr.org/2015/03/03/390431475/round-two-health-care-law-faces-the-supreme-court-again%20), in whole or in part **30**: Number of Democratic senators who voted for the law who are [no longer in office](http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/26-senators-who-voted-for-obamacare-wont-be-part-of-new-senate/article/2555721?custom%5Fclick=rss%20) **25:** Number of states that [signed on](http://kff.org/health-reform/state-indicator/state-positions-on-aca-case/) to a Supreme Court challenge to the law in 2012 **7:** Number of states that [signed on](http://kff.org/health-reform/issue-brief/are-premium-subsidies-available-in-states-with-a-federally-run-marketplace-a-guide-to-the-supreme-court-argument-in-king-v-burwell/) to a Supreme Court challenge to the law in 2015 **2%** of annual household income or **$325** per person: The fine for [not having coverage in 2015](https://www.healthcare.gov/fees-exemptions/fee-for-not-being-covered/%20) **43%**: Percentage of Americans who don’t [support the law](http://kff.org/health-reform/poll-finding/kaiser-health-tracking-poll-march-2015/?utm%5Fcampaign=KFF:%202015%20March%20Tracking%20Poll&utm%5Fcontent=13326360&utm%5Fmedium=social&utm%5Fsource=twitter%20) (41% support it) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3752486/affordable-care-act-fifth-anniversary/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3752486/affordable-care-act-fifth-anniversary/"},"headline":"11 Numbers to Explain Obamacare on its Fifth 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