The health-care legislation enacted this spring followed more than a year of heated, rancorous debate. But rather than subdue the public’s passions, the bill’s passage has only stoked them. Opposition to the new law remains very high, and Republicans have made clear their intention to push for its repeal if they gain control of Congress and the White House in 2010 and 2012.
For their part, President Obama and other champions of the legislation insist that public attitudes will soon change. More Americans will come to appreciate the law, they argue, once people have a better grasp of its benefits. And foremost among these benefits is the law’s prohibition of “pre-existing condition” exclusions in health insurance—which would prevent insurance companies from denying coverage to customers with serious medical problems.
Read the full piece in National Affairs.