For the past five years, we’ve been barraged by a predominantly Republican stream of commentary bashing just about anything from the Obama White House. But the way Republicans have thrashed the Affordable Care Act — or as it is popularly/infamously known,  Obamacare — has been unacceptable. Looking at some details regarding the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act reveals how disingenuous the Republicans have been.
    The first outcry against the ACA was its length, its rush through the legislative process and the high partisanship of its passage (no Republican voted yes for it).  First, the ACA is hundreds of pages smaller than even the longest law, HR 9389, a 1974 act authorizing an Alaskan pipeline.  Its rush was also overstated; the Senate passed the bill in December 2009.  It was February 2010 before the House took it up, and all parties had time to review the principal language. Finally, bipartisan legislation does not automatically mean it’s what is best for the country. Both the Indian Removal Act of 1830 and the 1919 Prohibition of Intoxicating Beverages received bipartisan approval.
  One thing discrediting Republicans the most is the individual mandate.  Introduced as a “form of technical matter” by Stuart Butler of the Heritage Foundation in 1989 (he has since conveniently changed his opinion as well), it was included in major Republican bills in the 90s.  Many conservative commentators said it resonated with conservative principles of individual responsibility.  It was championed for over 20 years by Republicans, notably by Newt Gringrich and Mitt Romney.  In fact, the Obama administration had to be convinced by health policy experts to include it in ACA.  The timing by which Republicans abandoned the mandate is suspicious at best.
  Obamacare is not government-run healthcare. Government-run means the government operates the actual business of health insurance. My wife’s OBGYN once complained of seeing our healthcare system become more like Europe’s. Over there, citizens pay taxes, and the government allocates funds to the healthcare providers, who must carefully manage that money; the citizens then have “free” healthcare.  Here, it is still you-pay-for-service; the ACA does not challenge this. The federal and state governments simply ensure a marketplace exists and shoppers have competitive options.  Sound familiar? Open market competition remains the Republican battle cry.
    How is anyone surprised about higher initial premium costs with ACA?  And not because of “I told you so” but because it’s simple business 101 — costs are higher in the first year of starting a business. Insurers must cover many more people and need the cash resources to accommodate the increased load.  Establishing marketplaces and giving companies a forum to compete in a more balanced way naturally leads to lower premiums, but they need at least one business cycle (year) to develop. Further, Forbes.com reports healthcare spending rates have been slowing since 2009.  Republicans downplay the direct impact of the ACA, but for data going back 50 years, the coincidence cannot be ignored.
   The ACA is not a perfect law, but don’t let anyone convince you it is the beginning of the end for America. The evidence does not support that.  Further, I argue that the Republicans fervent pushback and vitriol over Obamacare has actually prolonged any problems and made them worse, needlessly scaring and discouraging people from signing up for insurance until they can change leadership.  Regardless of the balance or unbalance of power, the law passed Congress, was signed by the president and affirmed by the Supreme Court. It is a valid and legal law, appropriately tested by the constitution’s system of checks and balances.
    Probably the best thing I can tell you is to use the ear test. If it alarms you and doesn’t make sense, read the law yourself.  I have read the ACA (many parts, but not completely), and many fallacies I’ve heard simply do not exist in the law.  But don’t take my word for it. Download it yourself at hhs.gov.