Krugman suggests that ACA may have now hit its moment of 'Bengazification'-where the real problems are being fixed and soon all the GOP will have left are the kind of fantastic stories that they have in the Bengazi-just a bunch of urban legends strung together with tape and being perpetually 'investigated' by Darrell Issa-where the point is not to learn anything but embark on perpetual fishing expeditions.
"Healthcare.gov is much better. It’s not running like, say, Amazon — but remember, mainly the government is trying to give you money, namely subsidized insurance, rather than to sell you something, so it doesn’t have to match commercial performance right away. There are still serious problems with the back end — the delivery of information to insurers. But the site is no longer a laughingstock, it’s going to get better, and a lot of people are going to sign up by the time open enrollment ends on March 31.
http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/12/02/benghazification-begins/?_r=0
At some point, they'll actually start trying to save Obamcare rather than repeal and not replace it. That's a long way off-it likely won't start till closer to the end of the decade-say around 2018 or so. For the foreseeable future they are gong to be running on repeal. However, repeal will begin to evolve and change into different meanings-which as some point will be to save it from the Democrats-who knows by the end of this decade they may like Obama then-the better to knock the Democratic President at that point-who ever thought they'd have anything good to say about Bill and even Hillary Clinton?
We see hints of this already. While the polls still show that most people 'disapprove' of ACA-though about 10% to 15% don't so much oppose it as think it doesn't go far enough-the GOP already tries to claim they support the popular aspects-notably the provision that allows youngsters to stay on their parents' plan till their 26 and the provision that makes prohibits the insurance companies from discriminating against those with pre-existing conditions.
The next Rubicon appears to be the Medicaid expansion. While all the Very Serious People (VSP) would have us believe that Obamacare is going to be some unmitigated disaster for the Dems in the midterms, the Dems clearly already see the Medicaid expansion as something that helps them.
"It’s widely accepted as an article of faith that Obamacare will be uniformly bad politics for Dems in 2014. After all, the rollout is a disaster and majorities disapprove of the law, so how could it possibly be any other way, right?"
"Healthcare.gov is much better. It’s not running like, say, Amazon — but remember, mainly the government is trying to give you money, namely subsidized insurance, rather than to sell you something, so it doesn’t have to match commercial performance right away. There are still serious problems with the back end — the delivery of information to insurers. But the site is no longer a laughingstock, it’s going to get better, and a lot of people are going to sign up by the time open enrollment ends on March 31.
In short, the crisis is over — for Obama and the Democrats. It’s just beginning for the Republicans, who won’t be able to let go of the notion that it’s a criminal scandal, and that mobs with pitchforks will march on the White House if only they can find the right words."
"They’ll try everything. They’ll hold endless hearings; they’ll get the usual suspects to publish many op-eds. Maybe they’ll get 60 Minutes to do a report that has to be retracted."
"And yes, maybe they’ll gain some seats in the midterms, although those are a long way away."
"But health reform is, almost surely, over the hump."
http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/12/02/benghazification-begins/?_r=0
At some point, they'll actually start trying to save Obamcare rather than repeal and not replace it. That's a long way off-it likely won't start till closer to the end of the decade-say around 2018 or so. For the foreseeable future they are gong to be running on repeal. However, repeal will begin to evolve and change into different meanings-which as some point will be to save it from the Democrats-who knows by the end of this decade they may like Obama then-the better to knock the Democratic President at that point-who ever thought they'd have anything good to say about Bill and even Hillary Clinton?
We see hints of this already. While the polls still show that most people 'disapprove' of ACA-though about 10% to 15% don't so much oppose it as think it doesn't go far enough-the GOP already tries to claim they support the popular aspects-notably the provision that allows youngsters to stay on their parents' plan till their 26 and the provision that makes prohibits the insurance companies from discriminating against those with pre-existing conditions.
The next Rubicon appears to be the Medicaid expansion. While all the Very Serious People (VSP) would have us believe that Obamacare is going to be some unmitigated disaster for the Dems in the midterms, the Dems clearly already see the Medicaid expansion as something that helps them.
"It’s widely accepted as an article of faith that Obamacare will be uniformly bad politics for Dems in 2014. After all, the rollout is a disaster and majorities disapprove of the law, so how could it possibly be any other way, right?"
"Here’s something that counter-programs that narrative a bit: Democrats are currently using a major pillar of the health law — the Medicaid expansion — as a weapon against Republican Governors in multiple 2014 races. Many of these Governors opted out of the expansion or have advanced their own replacement solutions, and many are facing serious challenges."
"In Florida, Democrat Charlie Crist has excoriated GOP Governor Rick Scott for dragging his feet on the Medicaid expansion, claiming a “million” Floridians “will not get health care” as a result. In Wisconsin, Democrat Mary Burke is campaigning on a pledge to reverse GOP Governor Scott Walker’s decision to turn down $119 million in federal money to expand Medicaid to more low-income Wisconsinites."
"In Pennsylvania, multiple Dems looking to run for governor are attacking GOP Governor Tom Corbett for subbing in his own plan to expand Medicaid, arguing it’s a ploy to defuse the issue. In Maine, Dem Rep. Mike Michaud is attacking GOP Governor Paul LePage for refusing to opt in."
"Some Dems running for governor in red states, such as South Carolina, may not embrace the Medicaid expansion debate as directly. But the fact that it’s emerging as an issue in some high profile races is a reminder that it’s still good politics for Dems to campaign on components of the Affordable Care Act that directly impact many of the constituents these GOP governors represent. Terry McAuliffe was just elected governor of purple Virginia partly on the Medicaid expansion."
Also the fact that GOP Governors like Arizona's Jan Brewer or Ohio's John Kasich have embraced the Medicaid expansion tells you that the politics differes in different places.
My guess, the more actual knowledge and experience Americans have of the law, the more popular it will get and the more the GOP will shift from repeal and not replace with anything other than letting people take healthcare plans across state lines to supporting popular aspects while trying to make it 'better'-much as they claim in Medicare. I expect that just like Medicare as the ACA gets more and more popular in the future they'll have to try to destroy it only under the guise of saving it or improving on it.
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