The quote of the day...

...is from Richard Kirsch, the chief executive of Health Care for America Now (HCAN). Harold Pollack interviewed him for his piece in the Washington Post, "The group that got health reform passed is declaring victory and going home." (My emphasis.)

What is ironic is that [the ACA] didn’t have to be so polarizing.  On the substance, ACA is a very conservative law. It increases the role of the insurance industry. Many of the ACA’s real current problems -- as opposed to problems conjured up by the right -- such as excessive deductibles, are prominent because these policies are the insurance companies’ favorite mode of operating.  The new law relies on individual responsibility to purchase often-subsidized coverage through the new marketplaces, which nationally and in most states are lightly regulated. Conservatives in a different era would’ve said, “This is a real compromise. This is something which takes many of our ideals -- not all of them -- and puts them into law.  This is the kind of reform we wanted and championed to a great extent.” That’s where it comes back to the real political motivations. The folks who are feeling pressed by demographic change, feeling pressed by the, “We’re helping those others who are not like you,” didn’t have to be told such divisive stories.
 
Look at all the seniors who say, “Get the government out of my Medicare.” They didn’t have to be told this story whatsoever.  For political reasons, Republicans wanted to scare seniors, even though nothing in the law hurts seniors. It actually increases their benefits.