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Economy
In reply to the discussion: Stock Market Watch, Tuesday July 30, 2013 [View all]Demeter
(85,373 posts)22. An Obamacare scorecard: Part 2 The hits, misses, and mixed reviews
http://www.cjr.org/the_second_opinion/an_obamacare_scorecard_part_2.php?page=all
...While the president has been focusing on some early small victorieslike the rebates some people are getting due to a provision in the lawat its core the Affordable Care Act is about insurance.
When it passed, it was about giving some 30 million of the 50 million people uninsured at the time, in 2010, a chance to get insurancefor some, to buy it with help from subsidies from the federal government, and for some others, getting it through Medicaid, via an extension of the existing federal/state program for the poor. A secondary goal was to get rid of some of the worst practices in the so-called individual market, which prevented sick people from obtaining coverage and well people from affording it. There was also talk that the law would slow down the rise in the cost of US medical care, though it arguably did not contain teeth strong enough to make that happen. Forces that could actually raise healthcare costslike consolidation in the insurance and hospital marketswould have continued with or without Obamacare. It is within this context that the Affordable Care Act to date must be scored. In Part 1 we examined what parts of the original law have been implemented, what parts are on hold, and what parts are gone. In this, Part 2, we assess the law as it stands so farits hits and its misses, as well as the parts that get mixed reviews....
...The next stage of Obamacare is the one that we should watch most carefully, as exchanges set up by the law start selling insurance policies to the unininsured and granting subsidies help people pay for themthe heart of the Affordable Care Act. If people get better insurance for the buck, and decide they can afford the coverage rather than pay the tax penalty, and sign up in drovesthats a huge hit. But its a complicated machine to start up and operate, and reporters need to watch closely. There are bound to be misses and mixed results. Whether they will undermine the success of the law is a big unknown. Neither the Democrats, the Republicans, or the press has a crystal ball.
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New York Times Goes HARD After Larry Summers In Aggressive Editorial Supporting Janet Yellen For Fed
xchrom
Jul 2013
#12
"In the end, the choice rests with Mr. Obama. The facts are entirely on Ms. Yellen’s side."
Demeter
Jul 2013
#15