# 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:** 62
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2014, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-ongoing-opinion-of-the-affordable-care-act-title-edited/647561/1222 "2014-01-19T19:26:14Z")
> [@Iggy](#): > > Claiming all Obamacare enrollees as persons who previously did not have coverage (or were unable to get coverage) is not a fair assumption. Oh, come on. You knew the WH would never admit that a lot of the people who are newly covered by exchange plans used to be covered by those, what are we calling it “inadequate” plans that the ACA did away with (well, temporarily) or other plans in the individual market. And of course they’d never say that a lot of those shiny new Medicare sign ups are in states that didn’t expand so those people had already been able to sign up for it before the affordable health care act was a twinkle in Obama’s eye. ---
**Author:** ![Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7ba0ec/32.png) [@Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omg_a_Black_Conservative)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2014, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-ongoing-opinion-of-the-affordable-care-act-title-edited/647561/1223 "2014-01-20T14:40:58Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > To the point that Obamacare is established fact, the law of the land, and isn’t going anywhere any more than Social Security or Medicare are, yes. I’m glad to know that has shifted from abhorrent to amusing to you. Please. You guys aren’t even defending, nor even trying to defend, the law on its merits anymore. Every last argument used to pass the law has now been completely abandoned. Every last negative outcome regarding Obamacare’s impact on premiums, insurance costs and the economy is disregarded. Nope. That shit doesn’t matter. Instead, you’ve somehow shifted the focus onto the eeevil insurance companies or want to argue how unpalpable (yeah, that’s probably not a word) it would be if “everyone” currently enrolled in Obamacare were “suddenly forced” off of it (though y’all seemed to have little qualms about people being forced off of their current insurance plans). So yup. Definitely amusing. If this were a football field, the goalposts would be somewhere in the parking lot. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2014, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-ongoing-opinion-of-the-affordable-care-act-title-edited/647561/1224 "2014-01-20T14:43:33Z")
> [@Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](#): > > Please. You guys aren’t even defending, nor even trying to defend, the law on its merits anymore. Every last argument used to pass the law has now been completely abandoned. Every last negative outcome regarding Obamacare’s impact on premiums, insurance costs and the economy is disregarded. I have no idea whatsoever where you’re getting any of that. If you’re not seeing as much debate on the merits as you used to, the reason would be that the debate is over - and you lost, on the merits. > [@](#): > > Instead, you’ve somehow shifted the focus onto the eeevil insurance companies or want to argue how unpalpable (yeah, that’s probably not a word) it would be if “everyone” currently enrolled in Obamacare were “suddenly forced” off of it (though y’all seemed to have little qualms about people being forced off of their current insurance plans). That wasn’t even coherent. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2014, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-ongoing-opinion-of-the-affordable-care-act-title-edited/647561/1225 "2014-01-20T14:44:04Z")
> [@Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](#): > > If this were a football field, the goalposts would be somewhere in the parking lot. In any thread involving **adaher** , there will inevitably be an endless game of “chase the goalposts”. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2014, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-ongoing-opinion-of-the-affordable-care-act-title-edited/647561/1226 "2014-01-20T15:01:21Z")
I have to get to them first. You guys keep running around with them. And comparing ACA to SS and Medicare? Get real. According to the latest story, the bulk of people insured through ACA already had insurance. I’m wondering exactly what people are getting that they’ll so badly want to keep. As of right now, you still don’t have a big enough constituency to keep this bill alive. Better hope enrollment picks up. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2014, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-ongoing-opinion-of-the-affordable-care-act-title-edited/647561/1227 "2014-01-20T15:19:52Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > According to the latest story Which you no doubt were about to thoughtfully link for us, to assess its credibility … right? > [@](#): > > As of right now, you still don’t have a big enough constituency to keep this bill alive. It’s not a bill, it’s a _law_. [Here’s how the process works](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Otbml6WIQPo), since you’re unfamiliar with it. “Keeping it alive” means nothing more than continuing to laugh at all of your guys’ pointless repeal votes. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2014, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-ongoing-opinion-of-the-affordable-care-act-title-edited/647561/1228 "2014-01-20T15:23:12Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > In any thread involving **adaher** , there will inevitably be an endless game of “chase the goalposts”. Still, that’s nothing like the wholesale shift that went on when the Democrats pushed through a Republican proposal for universal health care - and got it named for their Dear Leader, too. Suddenly it became the reimposition of slavery. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2014, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-ongoing-opinion-of-the-affordable-care-act-title-edited/647561/1229 "2014-01-20T17:40:20Z")
> **[Health Exchanges See Little Progress on Uninsured](https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702304149404579326992266662838)** > > Early estimates suggest that a majority of people signing up in the new marketplaces already had health plans. Most of the people who got insurance on the exchanges were already insured. And I bet most of them were happy with their old insurance. ---
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2014, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-ongoing-opinion-of-the-affordable-care-act-title-edited/647561/1230 "2014-01-20T17:48:23Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > [http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304149404579326992266662838](http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304149404579326992266662838) > > Most of the people who got insurance on the exchanges were already insured. And I bet most of them were happy with their old insurance. “Early Estimates Suggest That Majority of Sign-Ups Already Had Health Plans” \*Well, if early estimates suggest… \*:rolleyes: In any case, the plans they are transitioning into, are almost certainly better. In that they can’t have lifetime caps or abrupt cancellations. That’s the fundamental lack of understanding you have about the issue. If someone with a high deductible plan was happy, it was because he hadn’t hit his lifetime limit or hadn’t been dropped when he became too expensive. If you’re paying a pittance for the illusion of insurance, that’s fine, I can see why you’re happy with the fiction, but when you need it, the substance matters. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2014, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-ongoing-opinion-of-the-affordable-care-act-title-edited/647561/1231 "2014-01-20T17:54:39Z")
That’s just a talking point, with zero evidence to back it up. ---
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2014, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-ongoing-opinion-of-the-affordable-care-act-title-edited/647561/1232 "2014-01-20T17:58:03Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > That’s just a talking point, with zero evidence to back it up. Do your responses, in general, have anything to do with what you are responding to? Lifetime limits: [http://www.hhs.gov/healthcare/rights/limits/](http://www.hhs.gov/healthcare/rights/limits/) Cancellations: [http://www.hhs.gov/healthcare/rights/appeal/curbing-insurance-cancellations.html](http://www.hhs.gov/healthcare/rights/appeal/curbing-insurance-cancellations.html) ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2014, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-ongoing-opinion-of-the-affordable-care-act-title-edited/647561/1233 "2014-01-20T19:45:44Z")
Some plans had lifetime limits. Many did not. There is as of yet no firm data on how many plans were truly inadequate and which only technically didn’t meet ACA standards. ---
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2014, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-ongoing-opinion-of-the-affordable-care-act-title-edited/647561/1234 "2014-01-20T19:53:59Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Some plans had lifetime limits. Many did not. There is as of yet no firm data on how many plans were truly inadequate and which only technically didn’t meet ACA standards. Since when has having no firm data even slowed you down? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2014, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-ongoing-opinion-of-the-affordable-care-act-title-edited/647561/1235 "2014-01-20T19:56:16Z")
It certainly doesn’t slow down the administration, as we’ve seen time and time again. How many pinocchios have they racked up? At least I don’t repeat their talking points. Given their record, I’m astonished that any self-respecting Doper would. ---
**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 20, 2014, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-ongoing-opinion-of-the-affordable-care-act-title-edited/647561/1236 "2014-01-20T20:14:18Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > At least I don’t repeat their talking points. Given their record, I’m astonished that any self-respecting Doper would. Considering the fantasy world that you seem to live in in the Elections forum, I imagine that astonishment at interaction with the real world is pretty much your status quo. ---
**Author:** ![DMC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dmc/32/18049_2.png) [@DMC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMC)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2014, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-ongoing-opinion-of-the-affordable-care-act-title-edited/647561/1237 "2014-01-20T21:15:16Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Given their record… This stuff writes itself. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2014, 9:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-ongoing-opinion-of-the-affordable-care-act-title-edited/647561/1238 "2014-01-21T09:23:59Z")
Hey, I make up my own talking points. I don’t repeat the ones discredited by fact checking sites, thinking that if the President said it, it must be true. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2014, 10:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-ongoing-opinion-of-the-affordable-care-act-title-edited/647561/1239 "2014-01-21T10:40:43Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Hey, I make up my own talking points. > [@DMC](#): > > This stuff writes itself. QFT. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2014, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-ongoing-opinion-of-the-affordable-care-act-title-edited/647561/1240 "2014-01-22T11:51:55Z")
Anyway, so far you don’t have a whole lot of people who actually have coverage who didn’t before. All you’ve got is people who had coverage forced out of that coverage and into the exchanges. Unless that changes, there is still no constituency opposed to repeal other than partisan Democrats. ---
**Author:** ![DMC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dmc/32/18049_2.png) [@DMC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMC)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2014, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-ongoing-opinion-of-the-affordable-care-act-title-edited/647561/1241 "2014-01-23T02:28:19Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Anyway, so far you don’t have a whole lot of people who actually have coverage who didn’t before. All you’ve got is people who had coverage forced out of that coverage and into the exchanges. Thank goodness someone finally has the numbers we’ve been looking for. Now if only they would share them with the rest of us. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-ongoing-opinion-of-the-affordable-care-act-title-edited/647561.md?page=61) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-ongoing-opinion-of-the-affordable-care-act-title-edited/647561.md?page=63)