Health care reform: the doorway to health care transformation.

On March 23, 2010, US President Barack Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 20101,2 (Pub L. No. 111–148). At his side was Marcelas Owens, an 11-year-old boy whose mother had passed away after she lost her health insurance. Several days later, President Obama signed a companion piece of legislation (Pub L. No. 111–152)3 that created an unprecedented health reform package. The signing of these bills is indeed historic—the United States has finally acknowledged that health care access should be available for every citizen. Health reform puts into place the mechanisms for a transformation of health care delivery to meet the needs of children like Marcelas, his neighbors, and all Americans in the 21st century.