There does not seem to be any middle ground. No DMZ.
The Democrats must own up to the failures of the ACA. It is not a total failure however the intricacies and secondary effects are huge, some which providers hospitals and insurers predicted. And then some that were a surprise.
Health providers not only want it corrected, it must be corrected and soon. It is time to tweak the law. Some changes are not tweaks. The past two years have exposed the weaknesses. When you build a program and it does not work well it is time to study the negative aspects and make corrections.
Over the next three years more cracks will appear in the ACA. Expect it and also fix it. The cement has not yet hardened and there is still time to mold the ACA.
Health reform is such a huge undertaking that no one should expect immediately gratifying effect, except those who measure sucess by how many millions of people now carry an insurance ID. In some cases the ticket is not worth very much due to high deductibles, limited provider access, and prremium still beyond affordability except in the government's table of allowable expenses for medicaid. The figures based upon the FPL are obsolete and do not account for geographic location. It costs much more to live in Los Angeles than Topeka Kansas.
The amplitude of the argument is increasing without any serious introspection on the part of the democratic party.
DFLers say they're ready to get loud about federal health law,
Democrats in Minnesota are ramping up their arguments, on the defensive and with little positive conter-argument, other than the number count.
Republicans have been criticizing the federal health care law for years, and Democrats have been on the defensive. But as the 2014 election approaches, Democrats are starting to push back.
They now say the Affordable Care Act is making a positive difference in people's lives and that Republican efforts to repeal it will take health insurance away from thousands of Minnesotans.
Views on the law are likely to get lots of airtime up to Election Day. On Thursday, the Minnesota Jobs Coalition, a group working to help Republicans defeat DFL Gov. Mark Dayton, announced it will air a TV ad linking Dayton to MNsure, Minnesota's online health care exchange.
But after taking some early lumps on MNsure — the rollout of the state website led to botched applications and the resignation of MNsure's executive director in December — Democrats are becoming more aggressive about promoting what they say are the program's benefits. What are they ?
Knowing how controversial the law has been, most democrats have kept their head down not responding to the many criticisms, and not just from Republicans. Now the pendulum has swung and democrats are ready to swing. Republicans have been criticizing the federal health care law for years, and Democrats have been on the defensive. But as the 2014 election approaches, Democrats are starting to push back.
They now say the Affordable Care Act is making a positive difference in people's lives and that Republican efforts to repeal it will take health insurance away from thousands of Minnesotans.
Views on the law are likely to get lots of airtime up to Election Day. On Thursday, the Minnesota Jobs Coalition, a group working to help Republicans defeat DFL Gov. Mark Dayton, announced it will air a TV ad linking Dayton to MNsure, Minnesota's online health care exchange.
But after taking some early lumps on MNsure — the rollout of the state website led to botched applications and the resignation of MNsure's executive director in December — Democrats are becoming more aggressive about promoting what they say are the program's benefits.
What is apparent is that the ACA is a misfire, creating so much chaos that many are now crying for a 'single payer' solution, as stated succinctly on Care2's web site:
What is apparent is that the ACA is a misfire, creating so much chaos that many are now crying for a 'single payer' solution, as stated succinctly on Care2's web site:
"Then what should be done?
The solution has been staring us in the face for a long time now: A single-payer healthcare option for all Americans. Why? Because before the Affordable Care Act, it was clear that it is not acceptable to leave the basic human right to healthcare access to profit-driven corporations.
The Affordable Care Act should be seen as an attempt at something of a compromise between the public and private health sectors; unfortunately, this is showing itself to be wishful thinking, at best.
At least one state, Colorado, will be voting on the creation of single-payer healthcare this fall; however, for such a program to truly work, it would need to be instituted on a national level. Regardless, if Colorado does pass the ballot measure, it would certainly be a major step in the right direction."
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