And my goal here is to not take any political sides, and hopefully give an overview of what all of the debate is about and what this 'Affordable Care Act' is all about. and I'm going to start with the most controversial part, and this is the 'Individual Mandate' And this is the idea that you either have to get insurance, or pay: a penalty; or a fee; or a tax. -Penalty- Which is now being referred to as a tax by many folks.