According to the news item, the Affordable Care Act is______.

This week, a political dispute in Washington led to a partial shutdown of the United States government for the first time in almost 20 years. Agencies sent home more than 800, 000 workers—about one-third of the federal work force. The new budget year began on Tuesday, October 1. But Republicans in Congress blocked even short-term spending for many government operations.(23)They demanded that Democrats change the Affordable Care Act, the new health care law often called Obamacare. The Democrats refused.
    The federal government and states started websites for millions of uninsured Americans to buy health plans or pay a tax penalty.(24)Opponents of Obamacare say it will force people and small businesses to buy insurance policies against their will. At the heart of the dispute is a clash between the two major political parties over the role of the central government in American life.