"We warned the president -- don't ever, ever agree with the Republicans,"

[RBInMaine]

153. Here is where you are off base: First, low income folks get a SUBSIDY to pay their premiums, and

others will be covered under expanded Medicaid. Next, there was just no way Single Payer could actually PASS, and in the Senate public option also could not pass. It sucks with those Senate rules, but that is just the way it was. You must remember, the ACA was a
FIRST STEP. It was the best that could be done with what we had to work with in the Congress. The mandate was the ONLY way to get everyone in the system thus helping the exchanges to work right and get costs down for everyone. This was a CENTRIST bill which also stopped eliminations for pre-existing conditions, allows kids to stay on parental plans until age 26, and also included a rider to reduce college loans. There was a lot of good in this bill and the best and most progressive that could be done under the circumstances.

Yes, we would have all preferred a public option, or better yet single payer Medicare For All. But those COULD NOT PASS. So what to do? Nothing at all? You are not considering the big picture here whatsoever.