On March 30, 2010, President Obama signed into law the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 ("Health Care Act"), which amended the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act ("Patient Protection Act") that was signed into law only a few days prior on March 23, 2010. The Health Care Act contained provisions proposed by President Obama and requested by various members of Congress after the Patient Protection Act had already been passed by Senate in December 2009. This new law, which was designed to provide coverage to millions of Americans who are uninsured or underinsured, makes broad changes to the nation's health care system, and will have both an immediate and long-term impact on employers and their benefit plans. Below is a brief overview of important aspects of the law which will affect employers in the next year as well as certain other provisions with later effective dates.