It is, of course, still early days for the ACA. It only feels like it's been forever because we spent a year or two in legislative armageddon getting it passed, then the subsequent years seeing it put to endless test votes, court challenges, and, of course, stump speeches where "the disaster of Obamacare," "the debacle of Obamacare," "the civilization-ending, economy-busting, Muslim Communist Tyranny of Obamacare" were mentioned in pretty much every GOP candidate's speeches and appearances and press releases and, as far as I know, tattoo orders. All of which still continues today, despite the fact that the only thing that's really gone wrong with the ACA to date is, like a hot new online game, the initial performance and connectivity sucked.
While some ACA provisions went into effect almost immediately, the core provisions for policies and exchanges are still fairly new, so triumphalism is still premature. But it is, indeed, worth noting that all the worst-case predictions about how Obamacare would drive premiums through the roof, devastate the employment market, compel mass retirement of doctors and nurses, and promote male pattern baldness all seem to have not come true so far, either in Year 1 of its full implementation or for how things are looking for Year 2.
Which, if the inherent wackiness of the ACA, its ludicrous economic models, and its being the Utter Antithesis of What Made This Country Great were true, you'd expect to see some significant signs of so far.
Here's hoping that in three or four years, GOP politicians and pundits will have moved on, or at least shifted their anti-health care rhetoric to more veiled attempts at its dismantling (as with Social Security and Medicare). If such sanity begins to creep in, we might even be able to have some rational discussions, even possibly take some action to improve the ACA.
A man can dream, can't he?
Obamacare keeps refusing to fail
The “death spiral” didn’t happen. Say hello to the “life spiral.”
No, what you want is they DON’T move on, while the ACA becomes more successful, until even their my die-hard supporters look at what it means to them, and how that conflicts with what the Party is telling them.
@LH – I suppose, though there are a lot of things with the ACA that do, in fact, need fixing (leaving aside full fledged evolution), and that can’t be done while the GOP insists that the only surgery they’re willing to do on it involves an axe.