Could the Republican attempt to destroy the Affordable Care Act be over with? That's the gist of this article in the Los Angeles Times, which notes that Rethug politicians are nervous about eliminating affordable health insurance under the Act from some 20 million Americans. After leveling the most outrageous and false charges against "Obamacare" over the past five years, the Rethugs are actually adopting some of the Act's provisions in their own half-hearted, transparently insincere "plans." Moveover, with the Supreme Court considering a lawsuit that would deny tax benefits to people in states with ACA-sponsored State Exchanges, some Rethugs are actually considering supporting legislation to clarify the statutory language in question. A number of red states are implementing expanded Medicaid under the ACA's provisions, and a number of Rethug politicians have been hearing from constituents who are happy with their new health coverage.
After a botched roll-out of the Federal ACA website, the subsequent implementation has been successful beyond expectations, with health insurance costs leveling off and fewer uninsured Americans. Try as they might to convince their low-information, angry base that they'll uproot "Obamacare" at the first opportunity, the evidence is that they are increasingly resigned to letting health insurance reform alone for now.
