Is the ACA imploding?

[DevotedDemocrat]

Between the 3 month long issue with the website, the GOP blocking it, and now Obama delaying the individual mandate for a year (by making an open exemption policy for pretty much everyone), is the ACA imploding? To be honest, the whole law doesn't even make sense. All it is is basically an individual mandate to buy health insurance, a marketplace of exchanges and an expansion of Medicaid. There's no actual 'Obamacare.' It doesn't make sense, it's very convoluted.

[All Along The Watchtower]

[RedSLC]

Reported for spamming.

[King]

No, if anything all the early fears have settled down and people are growing content/indifferent about it.

[7,052,770]

... no?

The fact that Republicans have stopped with the "full repeal" shtick should tell you everything you need to know.

[Dave from Michigan]

No but it's still not popular and most Republicans oppose it strongly. Unfortunately the right has done a great job attacking it mostly with lies. The ad they have been running here about the lady with cancer who lost her insurance and doctor is a lie. The lady found a cheaper plan on the exchanges and kept her doctor but lots of people will believe the ad.

[Kevin]

Whatever the bill is and it's actual impact on the statistics of uninsured people it all sounds very convoluted.

Plus for what I've heard first hand from people who have actually signed up for it the coverage sounds pretty sh!tty in comparison to anything else.

[Amenhotep Bakari-Sellers]

The law needed the healthy people to sign up. With the choice between part time and full time work, employees aren't gonna add another expense to their pocket, even there is a penalty.

[Yank2133]

No, if anything all the early fears have settled down and people are growing content/indifferent about it.

Pretty much this. ACA is starting to go down like pretty much every other government program.

[Bojack Horseman]

It's working. 4.2 million new enrollments, people actually saving money on their premiums and getting better insurance for less, it's not a failure, it's working.

[Frodo]

It's working. 4.2 million new enrollments, people actually saving money on their premiums and getting better insurance for less, it's not a failure, it's working.

And, crucially, the proportion of young adult enrollees is also inching upward.

The rollout of the ACA hasn't exactly been awe-inspiring, but it isn't awful either.  In time, everything will work out just fine.  Not in time to save our chances in the 2014 mid-terms, but from 2016 onwards.  

[badgate]

Personal anecdote time!

I registered a woman to vote last night who told me she'd just recently signed up, with a premium of just $62 a month.

[MaxQue]

Personal anecdote time!

I registered a woman to vote last night who told me she'd just recently signed up, with a premium of just $62 a month.

Does 62$/month is good? I don't know, I have socialist healthcare here.

[Frodo]

Healthcare enrollment just hit the 5 million mark. 

[ajackson]

Regardless of whether the law is now imploding functionally (i don't believe that it is), it's already imploded in terms of public opinion.

RCP average has approval of the law at 39-54, which is a far cry from where it was in Nov 2012 and  worse than it was last month. The administration has lost the argument, it's hard to see approval of the law turning around dramatically at this point.

[Yank2133]

Regardless of whether the law is now imploding functionally (i don't believe that it is), it's already imploded in terms of public opinion.

RCP average has approval of the law at 39-54, which is a far cry from where it was in Nov 2012 and  worse than it was last month. The administration has lost the argument, it's hard to see approval of the law turning around dramatically at this point.

Oh please, we are not even a year into the ACA.

[AggregateDemand]

Healthcare enrollment just hit the 5 million mark. 

Many new enrollees already had private care, and few new enrollees pay their premiums when they sign up. Twenty percent are already so delinquent they've lost coverage.

The enrollment number is irrelevant.

[angus]

No, if anything all the early fears have settled down and people are growing content/indifferent about it.

I think that's about right.  I don't hear anything anymore.  I was against it, still am in principle, but generally it's not something I think about much lately.  Indifferent seems to sum it up. 

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

Well the pool is probably pretty dirty with (insert number you think are really covered by ACA) members.

Unless there was a huge influx of healthies and youngs I wouldn't go swimming.

[King]

No, if anything all the early fears have settled down and people are growing content/indifferent about it.

I think that's about right.  I don't hear anything anymore.  I was against it, still am in principle, but generally it's not something I think about much lately.  Indifferent seems to sum it up. 

That's a win in my book.

[angus]

[Person Man]

It just seems that people are just eating it and unless the Republicans get 60 votes or go nuclear in the Senate, its here to stay. If there is a push to repeal or not enforce the ACA, the same people who complain about what the law will be six months from now will still be upset that they don't know what the law will be six months from now.

The most likely scenario is that over the next 10 years, it will cut the  uninsured rate by half and maybe by two-thirds as more states sign up for the expansion but that there will come a time thereafter, maybe in another 10 years, where health care reform is again needed.

The bottom line is that we can't just write the last 5 years off like a bad dream and have nothing to show for it 5 years from now. If that happens, it'll already be too late to start over.

[Small Business Owner of Any Repute]

Personal anecdote time!

I registered a woman to vote last night who told me she'd just recently signed up, with a premium of just $62 a month.

Does 62$/month is good? I don't know, I have socialist healthcare here.

That's good, though it depends on what she's getting. Bronze plans aren't very good (i.e., they don't cover much and have high deductibles), but they're cheap (estimate $100-200 before subsidy).

I guarantee, though, it'll be a far better plan than what she'd have gotten for $62 previously.

[King]

It just seems that people are just eating it and unless the Republicans get 60 votes or go nuclear in the Senate, its here to stay. If there is a push to repeal or not enforce the ACA, the same people who complain about what the law will be six months from now will still be upset that they don't know what the law will be six months from now.

The most likely scenario is that over the next 10 years, it will cut the  uninsured rate by half and maybe by two-thirds as more states sign up for the expansion but that there will come a time thereafter, maybe in another 10 years, where health care reform is again needed.

The bottom line is that we can't just write the last 5 years off like a bad dream and have nothing to show for it 5 years from now. If that happens, it'll already be too late to start over.

The critical part will be getting all 50 states into Medicaid expansion.

[7,052,770]

Healthcare enrollment just hit the 5 million mark. 

Many new enrollees already had private care, and few new enrollees pay their premiums when they sign up. Twenty percent are already so delinquent they've lost coverage.

The enrollment number is irrelevant.

Even if the 5 million number overcounts some people who already had health insurance, it still dramatically undercounts the number of people who now have insurance thanks to Obamacare, since:

• Millions have signed up for Medicaid in the states that chose to expand instead of playing petty politics.
• Lots of people under age 26 have been allowed to sign up on their parents' plan.
• Many people with pre-existing conditions, who can no longer be outright denied or charged a higher rate, have signed up for individual insurance directly through the insurance company rather than going to the Exchanges. If you aren't eligible for a subsidy, you'll probably come out ahead doing that since there are some small taxes and fees on the Exchanges.
• Similarly, a lot of group plans used to not allow people with pre-existing conditions, and that's no longer the case. So a lot of people have just signed on with their employer's plan now that they're allowed to.

Unfortunately, all we have is an exact count from the Exchanges. We don't know an exact number who have insurance directly because of Obamacare. I saw an article several weeks ago estimating 12,000,000, and it's presumably higher now.