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Monday, October 28, 2013

"What If Obamacare Works?" Ross Douthat (And Frakt's Reply)


DOUTHAT: But what if Obamacare works? "[I]t's still more likely that HealthCare.gov will be fixed by Thanksgiving and millions of Americans will (finally) be able to get a real look at what Obamacare is selling them. What will they find? One way to understand what is being offered is to think in terms of three "mores." Insurance a la Obamacare will be more expensive, more subsidized and more comprehensive than what was previously available on the individual market." Ross Douthat in The New York Times.
@DouthatNYT: Maybe what Healthcare.gov needs is a David Ortiz pep talk.

FRAKT: A reply to Douthat. "[W]hat I expect is not a conversation about "success" or "failure" or -- in time -- about "repeal," but about how to incrementally change the law to start to take better control of costs...On the whole, this "success" vs "failure" idea is short-sighted, and soon will be out of date. Indeed, there's a policy risk in continuing such rhetoric. So long as Republicans couch their reform ideas in the language of "repeal," Democrats have no choice but to resist. They own the law and they're not going to let the opposition steal it away. Ironically, many conservative reforms could easily fit within the framework of Obamacare, and likely would appeal to moderate Democrats." Austin Frakt in The Incidental Economist blog



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