If the constant bombardment of ACA negativity is taking its toll on ME

[renie408]

...somebody who is a liberal and who desperately wants affordable health insurance coverage, what do we think it is doing to the average person? Hardly anybody I know in person has an even remotely positive view of this thing. At first I kept telling myself that the site would get fixed, people would start to benefit and everybody would chill out. But now, every day right here I see stories that make me think that it isn't going to work, it is going to be a giant clusterfuck and it is going to drag our previously bright chances for 2014 and 2016 into a hole with it.

Can somebody talk me off my ledge? Is there a silver lining here?? I think the main thing that is worrying me now are some of the comments about ACA plans paying doctors less, so fewer doctors will bother being in these networks. People are going to be PISSED if they cannot keep their doctor or have a very hard time finding doctors to take their ACA approved insurance plans.

[NYC_SKP]

1. I signed up 30 minutes ago. Rest assured as more people find success...

...the more the negatives will fall on deaf ears.

We'll be fine.

[PoliticAverse]

2. It's really too early to know the political fallout from the ACA, we won't even know how many

have or don't have insurance until the open enrollment period ends in March.

[geek tragedy]

3. the media is in feeding frenzy mode re: the ACA right now.

Eventually, the media will look for a different story to sensationalize

[napkinz]

5. here ---->

sorry, originally posted in wrong place, but hope these help:











Read these threads started by ProSense:

Obamacare is having one huge success nobody knows about

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024038246

ACA slows growth in health costs

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024065857


Read the ACA success stories:

https://www.facebook.com/acasignupsuccessstories

[renie408]

15. Thanks!!

[Cali_Democrat]

6. Negative ACA stories are planted here to serve an agenda

They want it to take a toll on you. They want you discouraged.

Don't give them what they want.

I don't.

[treestar]

18. This ^^^^^^^

[TheKentuckian]

7. heh...I'm pretty well established as no fan

But in a lot of conversations, I am the voice of reason because I at least understand how bad things are were in the individual market and don't hesitate to poke a bit to help folks come closer to realizing that their support for what we had is about a millimeter deep, especially since everyone knows someone who got a raw deal one way or the other.

This is what happens when pragmatism is redefined to mean the path of least political resistance rather than practical execution.

True enough that you can only execute what you can pass but it is deadly peril to ignore what happens when the rubber meets the road because the folks that get run over will not be eager to give you the keys again.

The lack of debate about the "how" makes this much more dangerous because this has been framed as all us. All the compromise for no votes is suicidal.

If you are going to do something massive then the benefits have to be broad and OBVIOUS. You aren't usually going to get away with even inconveniencing more than you help and it will make bad worse is if it comes out that the folks that are supposed to be helped are having significant issues as well, like not being able to afford care.

This is why we have had to say no to similar and even arguably better deals in the past, because the cost of screwing the pooch and having to chum it up with and deeply depend on unrepentant and unaccountable saboteurs is higher than the broad benefit that can be extracted in the exchange.

Sometimes real pragmatism requires not taking the step forward when the price is two back and understanding that no matter how desperate the need for shelter, if you build your house on a foundation of sand it is liable to fall down on you.

[Puzzledtraveller]

10. A reasonable and valid response

that no doubt would be viewed as or responded to by some here as a clever attempt to undermine the president and the ACA. Even honest criticism is lambasted so, not a winning attitude or a strategy in my book. If the ACA negatively impacts a significant number of people then we need to be able to swiftly and honestly address this.

[kentuck]

8. In January, the individual policies will expire for many folks....

and they will have to re-new their policies at higher premiums and little coverage or they will have to take a look at the Obamacare website.

[tsuki]

9. I remember the Medicare rollout. Same-o, same-o.

Same rich bastards talking the same BS.

[quinnox]

11. I'm thinking it will be changed and tweaked

They won't just let it go and ignore it if these problems and issues keep dominating and being in the news. Hopefully, anyway, otherwise it could have a strong negative effect on the Democrats and election 2014, as you rightly fear.

[TheKentuckian]

12. How can we pass tweaks? Especially for the stuff that we willfully constructed as is by a much

better Congress certainly than we have or even is achievable in the next decade.

In the short term though even the most minor things that require legislation are not in the realm of possibility, which is why "we'll fix it later" is a dangerous attitude if overused. The pieces fail to fit together and electoral power is lost as a consequence.

Real incrementalism is about building off a solid foundation a bit at a time not doing SOMETHING, ANYTHING and expecting some magical transformation into something wholly other powered by good intentions, "want to", and karma.

How folks look at say Social Security and think this effort is similar is beyond me, Social Security has evolved but it has evolved into improvements on the same underlying system at no time was it some corporate boondoggle that turned into a real safety net and most of the improvement has really been about access for fields not structure. This time folks have literally been asked to believe in magic, especially when confronted not with intent but structure.

[quinnox]

14. You might be right that any compromises made will be voted down by republicans

who are intent on hanging Obamacare around the Dem necks. In that case, if things and polls start to look bad, hopefully some delays wil be proposed and implemented like Obama did recently. Surely they won't stand around and take losses and let republicans take over Congress.

[taught_me_patience]

13. The American public is extremely fickle

The rollout mishap will be completely forgotten in a couple of months.

[Pretzel_Warrior]

16. most of them aren't bombarded as much as us who drink from the firehose of oversaturated political

news coverage. we are political junkies and our exposure to the toxic brew is in much higher than normal concentrations.

[renie408]

17. Good point.

I will sometimes feel completely freaked out about something that seems to me to be a REALLY BIG DEAL and mention it to a friend who will give me a blank look.

I remember right after Benghazi I was a little wigged out that it was going to blow into this HUGE THING that was completely going to bite us in the ass. I went out for a girl's night out with 6-7 friends...not one of which even knew who Chris Stevens was!

[ScreamingMeemie]

19. Refocus on the many, many, many people (myself included) who can

finally purchase health insurance. The media, the GOP, and even the Dems aren't highlighting this fact at all. The plan that I picked (and I'm in Texas) has dozens of PCPs to choose from. And all of the major medical centers that Houston is renowned for are also included.