Over 40 times the Republicans in the House voted to defund the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), and they went as far as to shut down the Federal government over it. It hurt the Republicans in the polls, and we’ll see how much it hurt the party in 2014.
I know I’ve written this a few times before, but the Affordable Care Act bill passed the Senate in December 2009 by a vote of 60-39. In March 2010 the House passed the bill 219-212. The President signed the bill. Republican Mitt Romney ran his presidential campaign base partly on the fact that he would repeal Obamacare. Romney lost. Obamacare was challenged in the U.S. Supreme Court and upheld.
Is Obamacare perfect? Heck no. It can be improved. Republicans and Democrats should work together to make it better. The President has signaled his desire to work with anyone to make the Affordable Care Act better. Some have said that a few people are losing their healthcare because of Obamacare, and, if that’s true, that would be a great place to start making improvements.
In what can only be termed as an “epic fail,” the Obama Administration rolled out their Affordable Care Act website with much fanfare and it crashed. It was like a rocket rising a few feet off the launch pad and exploding type of bad.
I think the reason the website failed was because so many folks in the media and from the right wing were accessing the site just to look for errors. It was either that or former President George W. Bush’s fault.
I am joking in those last two sentences.
But the epic failure of the Healthcare.gov website is not a reason to delay it or do away with it or do anything but work to make it better. There’s plenty of time to fix the website, we’re just a few weeks into the six-month enrollment period. People can sign up over the phone, too. Also, there are organizations that can help. I went to LocalHelp.HealthCare.gov and typed in my zip code. There were 13 places listed as “Application Assisters” for my area where I can get help.
We’ve been hearing a lot of naysayers from the right – like right-wing radio and television criticize Obamacare. The Obama administration does deserve some grief for the failure of the website.
Overall, I would imagine the people complaining the loudest about Obamacare on talk radio and television are those who already have health insurance – about 80% already have it.
Healthcare.gov has had over 20 million visitors and “Nearly 500,000 Americans have already applied for health coverage.” That is a good thing.
##END##
The Western Word 
The website problems will be fixed. I think the gratuitous complexity of the ACA contributes to the website’s problems, but so do Republican resistance, government contracting procedures, less than ideal project administration, and the often antiquated mainframe hardware on which so many government systems run. At this point, however, the situation is analogous to a new ship that breaks down at sea: assessing blame must be subordinated to fixing what’s wrong, and the crew that took the ship to sea is the crew that will return it to port.
My question is whether the ACA will founder because of its complexity. Over the weekend I spent time on healthcare.gov, looking at prices. I didn’t try to establish an account — I’m on Medicare — but I did look at what’s available for Montana. The array of plans differs from county to county, and so do prices. I found 29 medical plans for Sweet Grass County, and 29 or 30 for Flathead County. I also found an Excel file for downloading that contains all the dental plans — 64,000+ — for the nation. No wonder people need navigators to help them find their way through this maze. I suppose it will work after a fashion, and it certainly will work better if Republicans accept the will of the people and contribute to improving it. And it’s certainly better than the health care system we had in 2008. Nevertheless, it’s hideously complex, has many inequities, and in the end will leave tens of millions without coverage.
That’s why I favor a zero-dollar, everyone covered for everything federal single-payer system coupled with an end to fee for service health care billing. Those eligible can be signed-up automatically at birth, naturalization, or after a residency period, and need only present their American Care card when they obtain health care services. That can be a Beveridge system, but need not be one.
James – great information – thanks, JmB
I worked for a company based in Canada for 8 years. Canada has a single payer system. Everyone pays for that program and while it seems to be a good idea, the older you get the less attention you receive. If you need, say, a knee replacement, you can wait up to 10 years to have that done. Be ready to live on pain pills until your number comes up.Since I have had both of mine replaced, it is a very painful event and takes up to 2 years to fully recover. I was able to choose who did the surgery, where and when. You won’t have that choice in a single payer. The care will diminish as will the the quality of the doctors as they won’t be enthused to be one anymore.
We would have been better served to provide healthcare for those 3M people that needed it rather then change the whole program. Now up to 7M people are losing their coverage only to pay more for less. Just know that we will end up in a single payer system down the road, probably sooner then later with the debacle that the ACA has become. When that happens, everyone will be in that program, even the military retirees!
I agree in lifetime benefits and believe that all our service men and women be paid better! Way better!
When was the last time you saw the government implement a successful program.The enrollment website was broken and the administration knew, but launched it anyway. If that is the way they plan to manage the ACA rollout, it will only get worse.
Rather then look for a “navigator”, you should go on and see what you are eligible for in a plan. Look at the premiums and then review the out of pocket costs, like deductibles, co-pays, co-insurance and prescriptions. When I did, I was also informed I would have to pay the fine because my current plan was not compliant with the ACA. Why? Because my current plan did not include maternity and well baby care. I am 57 and my wife is 60! Why do I have to pay for that??? My out of pocket costs and increased premuims would cost me an additional $17,000 per year!
I have two friends that have received notices that their plan will not be renewed next year due to non compliance to the ACA. So much for Obama saying you can “keep” your plan and “keep” your doctor. The liberals sucking on the teet of the government voted for Obama and this is what they will get.
As far as both parties working to fix the problems together. That will be like taking a rusted old 53 pickup that has been out in the field for 40 years, paying $2 trillion dollars for it and then trying to agree on how to restore it. it would certainly be better for all concerned to abandon it and look for a solution to provide healthcare for the 3M people that don’t have insurance rather then change the program for all 310M people!
Let me know how you fair on a new plan…and I’m not joking…
Barry,
Thanks for your comments – some of the items you listed are things that both parties should work on to fix under the program. As for me, I have insurance and also I am a Veteran and enrolled in VA healthcare. -JmB
I know you are vet and thank you for your service. If you really want to opine about the ACA, you would be best served to take a look yourself. I am an Air Force brat, my dad gave 24 years to the Army and Air Force in 2 wars. He wouldn’t let me serve. He said he gave enough for both of us. Obama has said he has considered eliminating TriCare for Life. That would be a huge problem for my 93 year old mom on a fixed income. In all reality, you should be concerned that the administration will change your benefits as well!
Barry,
I did go to Healthcare.gov and researched the plans. I had no problems. I am also concerned with those in authority who did not serve in the military taking away the benefits from those who did – be they Republicans or Democrats. Military retirees and their dependents should have free healthcare for life, period. -JmB