How is Obamacare not a disaster for the Democratic party? (revised)

[Ms. Toad]

143. But tweaking (your suggestion)

eliminates the ability to offer the same plan. If they tweak, they don't have the option to continue it.

The message that is out there, which is not true, is that people are losing the crappy plans that make them happy because the ACA has changed the minimum standards and they aren't allowed to offer them any more - if that was true then the critics are right - the ACA (itself) means that you can't keep your plan even if you like it. You said, tweak it so it meets the minimum standards. That plays into the false line that the ACA prevents you from keeping the plan you have if you like it - because it says that the insurance company can't offer the same plan to you - it has to change it (or drop you).

The critical point we need to get across is that the ACA expressly permits people to keep their crappy plans - it was written exactly as President Obama promised. If you are happy with your crappy plan, the ACA (itself) will not force you to change. On the flip side, it is also not a governmental take-over of insurance - so it won't force your insurance company to continue to offer that crappy plan. And that is where the insurance company choice came in. Even though it could have offered the exact same crappy plan, it chose not to.