FDR, Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, LBJ, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush, Clinton and Bush...

[phleshdef]

33. I don't believe DI was trying to slight Medicare or Medicaid in anyway.

But lets also not forget that the ACA expands Medicaid and granted 8 years more solvency to Medicare and fixes the loophole in Medicare drug coverage. On top of that, it regulates the private insurance industry to many degrees higher than it has ever been regulated. It creates thousands of free clinics. It provides subsidies for insurance premiums based on a progressive income scale. It also makes many changes to Medicare in regard to cracking down on fraud. And it makes it a whole lot easier for states to enact their own single payer system. At some point it requires employers to cover employees or pay fines that is ultimately used to shore up the subsidization funds.

So yea, Medicare/Medicaid, those are some very great things, things we should celebrate and be proud of. But the vast majority of the Americans aren't poor or old. The ACA bridges that gap a lot, not entirely, but a LOT.

So his initial point is probably correct. The ACA sets a standard that everyone should be able to get covered. It codified that idea into law by using individual and employer mandates and expansions of healthcare for the poor and expanding the solvency of healthcare for the elderly. It will be looked back up on as the beginning of true universal healthcare for America.