# What is your ongoing opinion of the Affordable Care Act? (Title Edited) **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [January 17, 2013, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-ongoing-opinion-of-the-affordable-care-act-title-edited/647561 "2013-01-17T23:21:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 166
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2014, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-ongoing-opinion-of-the-affordable-care-act-title-edited/647561/3302 "2014-12-26T19:08:22Z")
> [@Lobohan](#): > > Once again, Gruber was talking about the mouth breathers who think that Taxes are a sin against the baby Jesus when he mentions the stupidity of America. Funny then that those ‘mouth breathers’ didn’t fall for it. They weren’t the ones who voted for Obamacare, or who defended it using Gruber’s misdirections and obfuscations. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2014, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-ongoing-opinion-of-the-affordable-care-act-title-edited/647561/3303 "2014-12-26T21:25:50Z")
Death panels. :rolleyes: The upcoming Republican alternative plan. :rolleyes: The number of uninsured is down by an 8-digit number now, and will keep growing, despite your outrage. The team you have chosen to cheer for loyally and absolutely, comfortably knowing there are no actual consequences for you, lost, and on the merits. I understand how infuriated you must be at that fact, but a fact it is. It remains mystifying, however, how someone who has never had to worry about health care coverage could begrudge it to others. ---
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2014, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-ongoing-opinion-of-the-affordable-care-act-title-edited/647561/3304 "2014-12-26T22:39:35Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > Death panels. :rolleyes: The upcoming Republican alternative plan. :rolleyes: > > The number of uninsured is down by an 8-digit number now, and will keep growing, despite your outrage. The team you have chosen to cheer for loyally and absolutely, comfortably knowing there are no actual consequences for you, lost, and on the merits. I understand how infuriated you must be at that fact, but a fact it is. It remains mystifying, however, how someone who has never had to worry about health care coverage could begrudge it to others. That’s what I just can’t understand. Getting help from the government can literally mean the difference between life and death to some people. Paying a few thousand more in taxes is nothing but a rounding error for the richest people. There is not a chance in hell it will make a bit of difference to them or their families in the next two centuries. But the Kochs and Adelsons of the world continue to act as if a slight increase in taxes is the worst thing imaginable. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2015, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-ongoing-opinion-of-the-affordable-care-act-title-edited/647561/3305 "2015-01-15T15:12:54Z")
More good news about the effects of the ACA – [significantly fewer people](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/01/15/obamacare-paying-bills-commonwealth_n_6471410.html) are having trouble paying medical bills. The same survey also found that “for the first time since 2003, there has been a decline in the number of people putting off health care because of the cost”. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2015, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-ongoing-opinion-of-the-affordable-care-act-title-edited/647561/3306 "2015-01-16T00:36:55Z")
Gallup found the opposite effect on one of those two questions: [http://fdlaction.firedoglake.com/2014/11/28/increasing-number-of-americans-are-putting-off-seeking-health-care/](http://fdlaction.firedoglake.com/2014/11/28/increasing-number-of-americans-are-putting-off-seeking-health-care/) ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2015, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-ongoing-opinion-of-the-affordable-care-act-title-edited/647561/3307 "2015-01-16T01:40:28Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Gallup found the opposite effect on one of those two questions: > > [http://fdlaction.firedoglake.com/2014/11/28/increasing-number-of-americans-are-putting-off-seeking-health-care/](http://fdlaction.firedoglake.com/2014/11/28/increasing-number-of-americans-are-putting-off-seeking-health-care/) That one is a bit older, though not by much. Maybe something happened in the last 2 months, or maybe the answers vary seasonally for some reason (maybe health care is cheaper at a certain time of year), or one of them is an outlier. We’ll see with more time and more surveys. So far, most of them look good as far as the ACA’s affect. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2015, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-ongoing-opinion-of-the-affordable-care-act-title-edited/647561/3308 "2015-01-16T03:23:37Z")
Probably different methodologies, different question wording. Medicaid recipients are probably doing much better but middle class people who now have higher deductibles(such as Harvard professors, heh) might be putting off more care. ---
**Author:** ![rsa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/839c29/32.png) [@rsa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rsa)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2015, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-ongoing-opinion-of-the-affordable-care-act-title-edited/647561/3309 "2015-01-16T04:10:08Z")
It appears the [bulk of the increase is for households with incomes over$75,000.](http://content.gallup.com/origin/gallupinc/GallupSpaces/Production/Cms/POLL/wuwk0wbuwea6ge9sxz9v9w.png) ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2015, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-ongoing-opinion-of-the-affordable-care-act-title-edited/647561/3310 "2015-01-16T04:21:58Z")
All of the increase is with private insurance. ---
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2015, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-ongoing-opinion-of-the-affordable-care-act-title-edited/647561/3311 "2015-01-16T06:31:49Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Gallup found the opposite effect on one of those two questions: > > [http://fdlaction.firedoglake.com/2014/11/28/increasing-number-of-americans-are-putting-off-seeking-health-care/](http://fdlaction.firedoglake.com/2014/11/28/increasing-number-of-americans-are-putting-off-seeking-health-care/) With millions more people getting insurance, some for the first time, some for free, what mechanism could possibly account for that? Were there observers at the polls? ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2015, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-ongoing-opinion-of-the-affordable-care-act-title-edited/647561/3312 "2015-01-18T14:50:10Z")
Governor Tony Sandoval (R-NV) shows how [he fixed the problem all by himself](http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/01/16/1358206/-How-Nevada-s-Republican-Gov-Sandoval-fixed-the-state-s-healthcare-crisis-all-by-nbsp-himself), it wasn’t Obamacare, nosirree … You’ll see even more of Republican pols trying to take credit for it, as more people come to realize what’s actually in it. ---
**Author:** ![2ManyTacos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/2/3da27b/32.png) [@2ManyTacos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2ManyTacos)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2015, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-ongoing-opinion-of-the-affordable-care-act-title-edited/647561/3313 "2015-01-19T18:22:24Z")
Repeat after me: [Republicans DO NOT CARE about health care reform](http://www.vox.com/2015/1/16/7552657/republican-obamacare-replace-plan) Anybody who has followed my posts in this thread would know that I’ve been harping on that point for ages, but I’m glad that somebody with a much larger audience has finally come out & told it like it is. ---
**Author:** ![2ManyTacos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/2/3da27b/32.png) [@2ManyTacos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2ManyTacos)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2015, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-ongoing-opinion-of-the-affordable-care-act-title-edited/647561/3314 "2015-01-19T18:29:39Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > Governor Tony Sandoval (R-NV) shows how [he fixed the problem all by himself](http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/01/16/1358206/-How-Nevada-s-Republican-Gov-Sandoval-fixed-the-state-s-healthcare-crisis-all-by-nbsp-himself), it wasn’t Obamacare, nosirree … > > You’ll see even more of Republican pols trying to take credit for it, as more people come to realize what’s actually in it. Yeah, I saw this the other day & would’ve probably posted it here if you hadn’t beaten me to it. The thing is, I actually kind of like Sandoval because - by all accounts - he’s actually gone out of his way to distance himself from his national party in order to govern in a reasonable way. If he challenges Reid in '16, he might even be favored to pick up that seat. But by all means, this is a Hell of an equivocation on the ACA. Now, it’s funny to those of us who know the facts about the law & what it does, even if it’s similarly as frustrating that a huge amount of people are bound to credit Sandoval _himself_ for the sharp decline in the uninsurance rate as opposed to Obama for _Obama_care. There was a similar equivocation a few months ago when Kasich in Ohio claimed that Medicaid expansion wasn’t related to the ACA at all. Maybe this is how Obamacare Derangement Symptom will finally go away: with GOP pols gradually taking credit for what the law does while simultaneously distancing themselves from the moniker of Obamacare itself. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2015, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-ongoing-opinion-of-the-affordable-care-act-title-edited/647561/3315 "2015-01-19T19:22:46Z")
Obama’s approval [up to 50%](http://www.washingtonpost.com/page/2010-2019/WashingtonPost/2015/01/19/National-Politics/Polling/release_384.xml), at least for a WaPo poll released today. Hopefully, this will be a sign to Obama that actually pushing hard for Democratic ideas (exec action on immigration, changing policy for Cuba, as examples) and doing substantive things with or without Congress (when within his power) are good politics as well as good policies. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Anconia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@D\_Anconia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Anconia)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2015, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-ongoing-opinion-of-the-affordable-care-act-title-edited/647561/3316 "2015-01-19T19:52:45Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > Hopefully, this will be a sign to Obama that actually pushing hard for Democratic ideas (exec action on immigration, changing policy for Cuba, as examples) and doing substantive things with or without Congress (when within his power) are good politics as well as good policies. It wasn’t that long ago that the theory of the “unitary executive” was openly derided. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2015, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-ongoing-opinion-of-the-affordable-care-act-title-edited/647561/3317 "2015-01-20T04:42:02Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > Obama’s approval [up to 50%](http://www.washingtonpost.com/page/2010-2019/WashingtonPost/2015/01/19/National-Politics/Polling/release_384.xml), at least for a WaPo poll released today. Hopefully, this will be a sign to Obama that actually pushing hard for Democratic ideas (exec action on immigration, changing policy for Cuba, as examples) and doing substantive things with or without Congress (when within his power) are good politics as well as good policies. It’s better politics than inaction, I’ll give you that. The public hates weak leaders. But as with anything in this administration, implementation of his policies will be what makes or breaks them. And how he handles the inevitable screwups. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2015, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-ongoing-opinion-of-the-affordable-care-act-title-edited/647561/3318 "2015-01-22T14:19:13Z")
Well, other than the initial stumble with the website, the ACA has been implemented rather successfully, wouldn’t you say? Or at least, as successfully as the Supreme Court would let it be implemented. And that’s the topic of this thread, which should have its title changed to “With [del]less than a year until it’s[/del] _over a year since it’s been_ fully enacted, what is your opinion of the Affordable Care Act?” ---
**Author:** ![2ManyTacos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/2/3da27b/32.png) [@2ManyTacos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2ManyTacos)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2015, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-ongoing-opinion-of-the-affordable-care-act-title-edited/647561/3319 "2015-01-26T18:29:07Z")
As the evidence of ACA success & the ludicrousness of the _King_ argument continue to pile up, conservatives have increasingly been turning to the moral case that Ocare is _inherently wrong._ I’m going to link to this Wa-Po op-ed that’s been getting a lot of attention for the past few days, both for its stunningly cold & apropos headline as well as the fact that it broadly encapsulates the GOP’s entire approach to health care policy (hint: they don’t believe in it): [End Obamacare, and people could die. That’s okay.](http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/end-obamacare-and-people-could-die-thats-okay/2015/01/23/f436df30-a1c4-11e4-903f-9f2faf7cd9fe_story.html?hpid=z2) The article itself makes me almost feel physically ill, but at the same time, I do think that it’s important for Americans to see the GOP’s immorality on HC matter-of-factly laid out to them. ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2015, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-ongoing-opinion-of-the-affordable-care-act-title-edited/647561/3320 "2015-01-27T04:37:40Z")
> [@2ManyTacos](#): > > As the evidence of ACA success & the ludicrousness of the _King_ argument continue to pile up, conservatives have increasingly been turning to the moral case that Ocare is _inherently wrong._ I’m going to link to this Wa-Po op-ed that’s been getting a lot of attention for the past few days, both for its stunningly cold & apropos headline as well as the fact that it broadly encapsulates the GOP’s entire approach to health care policy (hint: they don’t believe in it): > > [End Obamacare, and people could die. That’s okay.](http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/end-obamacare-and-people-could-die-thats-okay/2015/01/23/f436df30-a1c4-11e4-903f-9f2faf7cd9fe_story.html?hpid=z2) > > The article itself makes me almost feel physically ill, but at the same time, I do think that it’s important for Americans to see the GOP’s immorality on HC matter-of-factly laid out to them. But…but…they’re PRO-LIFE! Er, I mean…pro-fetus. Or something. Oh, wait a minute… ---
**Author:** ![Bone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bone/32/407_2.png) [@Bone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bone)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2015, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-ongoing-opinion-of-the-affordable-care-act-title-edited/647561/3321 "2015-01-27T07:34:01Z")
> [@2ManyTacos](#): > > The article itself makes me almost feel physically ill, but at the same time, I do think that it’s important for Americans to see the GOP’s immorality on HC matter-of-factly laid out to them. What does ‘almost feel physically ill’ mean? Is that like mild discomfort, bland indifference, I can’t tell. And what pray tell from this article causes this near reaction? Please be specific. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-ongoing-opinion-of-the-affordable-care-act-title-edited/647561.md?page=165) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-ongoing-opinion-of-the-affordable-care-act-title-edited/647561.md?page=167)