Until the mandate kicks in....

And it is pretty much how I see it and posted earlier- if, big if, they can make things roll out smoothly it might help.

But I disagree with Democrats not abandoning it- ones serious enough to come post on message boards and be involved in politics, no. Ones mostly apathetic about politics, but who vote the right way, I easily could see doing so if things affect them negatively. If Joe Democrat sees his coverage dropped by him employer because it makes more financial sense to push him off on an exchange, and what the exchange offers is poor, they will be unhappy.

As an example in many counties in NC there will be only one company offering plans via the exchanges- Blue Cross Blue Shield. Two others will operate only in some counties. So it is quite possible for a person to have an employer drop them because the fine is cheaper, only to find they have only one choice via the exhanges- BCBS. And what incentive will BCBS have to offer anything but the lowest coverage for the maximum price allowed when they are the only game in town.

This is also the case with the small business plans available via the exchange. Only one game in town, BCBS, in NC. Part of my future planning for opening a new business is waiting to see what BCBS has for rates under this, but they have not published anything yet.

are against it just because it didn't go far enough an give us a single payer system? Those people might answer that they are against ACA - but they really are reasonably cool with the fact that we have something relatively decent with some good features.

The administration hasn't done much of an information campaign so what the public understands about ACA is what they hear from TV talking heads. Most of whom either are uninformed or predisposed to dislike anything Obama does.

They are allowing their political enemies to define their most notable accomplishment. If they don't take charge the approval for ACA will be lower a year from now.

I hope that more people will be helped than not. I freely admit that I'm against, because I'm one that will not be helped, and because I want non-profit health CARE, not insurance, which I've already got, but can't afford to use.

If more people are able to get care without bankrupting themselves, then more will approve. If not, then not.

If they roll things out smoothly, and peoples lives get better with no big headaches, approval will go up.

If the rollout goes poorly, exchanges don't work right or are confusing, approval will go down.

If more employers dump employees onto exchanges, blaming the ACA and the employees find they have worse coverage (or even just feel that way if it isn't justified) or are paying more, approval goes down. I imagine for a lot of UPS employees that is happening right now...

Come tax time when people who didn't enroll find themselves facing fines, especially young people, approval goes down.

If union workers find themselves taxed more because they have "Cadillac" plans hard won by their collective bargaining they will, not without cause, feel betrayed.

die, they will realize they've been betrayed again. That awakening will take longer than 1 year, however.

The last Great Cull was in the early 80s with the advent of the HMO, which was billed as providing preventive care and would bring health care costs down.

The reality was that HMOs paid their doctors bonuses to not test and not treat. I almost died because the doctor told me my dramatic weight loss (from 110 to 80 pounds within 2 months or so), severe insomnia (6 hours of sleep/week maximum) for months, recurring lump under my arm, blurred vision in afternoons, and extreme fatigue were "all in my head" and sent me packing. In fact, I was likely septic and my life saved by my dentist when he put me on prophylactic antibiotics for a month prior to removing impacted wisdom teeth that turned up in my x-rays.

A co-workers mother also had her severe symptoms blown off as "mental" back in the 80s, delaying testing and treatment for months. By the time she found somebody who would put her health ahead of their personal profits it was too late, and she died of ovarian cancer leaving young children behind.

The Insurance "Industry" does not provide one bit of health care. They do not contribute *anything* to health care. They take money and deny care. That is a fact. They do not profit by providing health care, they profit by stealing health care dollars and leaving people to pay out of pocket (or what's left in their pockets) or die.

If you become very sick, unless you have somebody to sue, publicize, and fight tooth and nail against the Insurance Industry, or unless you are sufficiently high profile that they don't dare deny you care, you will not have any insurance "coverage," no matter how much you've paid in premiums. They will find a way to deny you care. They employ a large number of people for the specific purpose of examining those pages and pages of fine print to find an excuse to leave you to die.

We are in the second Great Cull, and this time around , forced to pay for "Health Insurance" that does not provide one bit of actual health care, will mean many people will not have the money left to pay for care out of pocket and will not have somebody by their side to fight the Insurance Companies or publicize their situation, and they will die.