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Monday, July 6, 2015

Even after court victory, Obamacare in trouble due to high rates & other issues

Obamacare has cleared a second major hurdle at the Supreme Court — but its troubles are far from over.
The law is still highly unpopular, and significant structural issues remain: Health insurance rates are rising, many people don’t have as much choice of doctors and hospitals as they’d like, some states continue to struggle with their exchanges, and 21 states still haven’t backed Medicaid expansion.

So while President Barack Obama can point to a two-time victory at the high court and the law’s historic increase of health coverage, his foes — including the Republicans jockeying for the 2016 ticket — can recite an alternative story. The fact that both realities are true — a red story that paints a grim picture and a blue version that has a much brighter hue — will make it hard to move on.

The biggest obstacle the Affordable Care Act faces is political: Republicans say the court’s ruling Thursday in King v. Burwell has done nothing to change their fundamental opposition to the law. But there are other substantive problems in implementing the law.
Some of the states that decided to set up an exchange are dealing with ongoing technological problems or financial difficulties, especially now that they can’t get federal grants. (Continues at POLITICO)

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