Abstract
BACKGROUND: In 2010, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was signed into law. The Act seeks to improve the access of Americans to improved quality health care, while controlling the nation's escalating health care expenditures. The Act is scheduled for further implementation in 2014. OBJECTIVE: This article elucidates the opportunities and challenges that the ACA presents for constructive, innovative collaboration between the legal and medical professions in contributing to the quest for a more affordable and accessible high quality health care system. METHODS: The author analyzed the text of the Act, as well as secondary sources in the areas of law, medicine, and public health. This allowed for the creation of a comprehensive conceptual and empirical framework through which the Act could be properly analyzed and understood. RESULTS: The research described the pitfalls inherent in the Act, but demonstrated that the ACA presents more opportunities than challenges if lawyers and doctors are willing to work together to bring about needed social change. CONCLUSION: The article qualified these findings by emphasizing that doctors must learn to advocate on behalf of their profession if the potential benefits of the ACA are to be realized.