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ExhibitionReform and Reaction

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  • Protestor holding sign 'We love Obamacare' with others with Supreme Court in the background.
    Affordable Care Act supporters, 2012

    In front of the Supreme Court, demonstrators await a decision on the Affordable Care Act, June 28, 2012

    Courtesy Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images

    Supporters and detractors both rallied in front of the Supreme Court during 2012 hearings on the Affordable Care Act’s constitutionality.

  • Three protesters linking arms in lobby, wearing shirts that say 'Victim of private health insurance.'
    Single-payer health system supporters, 2009

    Supporters of a single-payer health system protested at the offices of Aetna, a private health insurance company, New York, 2009

    Courtesy Thomas Altfather Good

    Before Congress passed the Affordable Care Act, some groups insisted that private health insurance companies should not be included in the bill due to the industry’s past practices of exclusion and denial of coverage, but they were not successful.

  • Elderly White man wearing American flag shirt cups hands to yell at speaker out of view.
    Health care town hall meeting, 2009

    A man from the audience calls out during a health care town hall, Naples, FL, September 9, 2009

    Courtesy Naples Daily News

    During the debates leading up to the passage of the Affordable Care Act, town hall meetings on the bill became forums for citizens to express their opinions on the reform.

  • Protestors hold signs and look off to the right slightly.
    Rally in opposition to the Affordable Care Act, 2010

    Rally in opposition to the Affordable Care Act in Washington, D.C., March 16, 2010

    Courtesy Jewel Samad/AFP/Getty Images

    The role of government in providing access to affordable health care remains a contested issue to those who oppose the 2010 Affordable Care Act.