My enthusiasm for the ACA is mitigated by its complexity and especially by the fact that it leaves private insurers at the center of American healthcare finance, allowing them to continue to suck profits out of the system, pocketing money meant to care for people. (In my state, where insurers have been raising premium costs like right arms at at teabagger rally, while claiming skyrocketing expenses as the reason, it's been recently reported that they have billions in cash on hand.) Still, given the benefits to average people, it's amazing -- or would be, in a world where lies are rejected and truth is valued -- that so many people have been deceived into thinking otherwise.
It's obvious that if Rs get their way after the election, and that if they'd gotten it three years ago, we will not and would not have had any meaningful reform. Given the enormity of the problem, the manifold failings of our current system, the undeniable trajectory of unsustainability on which we find ourselves, and notwithstanding the enormous pressure from obvious interest groups to maintain the status quo, it's a remarkable accomplishment of Congressional Democrats and President Obama that such an effort was made at all, and that, given the opposing political forces, they succeeding in doing something. If imperfect, the ACA represents an actual effort by politicians to do what actually needs doing, sticking out their necks and legislating, despite the difficulty and the potential backlash from a well-oiled propaganda network of RWS™ and faux news. And the unanimous obstructionism of the Republican party.
I assume Republican active disinterest in health care reform stems largely from the idea that they have theirs and don't care about yours; not to mention palms greased by insurers. You'd think the contrast would be a no-brainer to thoughtful people.
But you'd be wrong, wouldn't you?
