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The juxtaposition of Tuesday's two top stories was extraordinary.

The top story all day was that Republicans had shut down the federal government because President Obama wouldn't defund or delay the Affordable Care Act. The other major story was that the government's servers were crashing because so many people were trying to see if they could get insurance through Obamacare.

Sadly, the American people are still struggling with a buggy Congress -- and it's not clear any fix is in the offing. It was strange and slightly perverse to watch Obamacare open and be flooded with people desperate to sign up for health insurance even as the government closed because Republicans wanted the law ripped out, or at least delayed.

This is, of course, precisely what Republicans were scared of: That a law they loathe would end up being enthusiastically embraced by millions of Americans -- and thus proving permanent. It's Obamacare's possible success, not its promised failures, that unnerve the GOP.

At this point, though, their fight continues even as their cause is lost. With people already signing up for insurance under Obamacare and insurers already selling insurance under Obamacare it's no longer credible to promise repeal or delay. Republicans need an actual answer for all those people.

As Tuesday proved, there are going to be problems with Obamacare, and it's nearly certain that the GOP could come up with ways to reform, improve, or even replace it if they were sufficiently committed to improving the country's health-care system. But as Tuesday also proved, millions of Americans have been waiting for something like Obamacare, and now that they've got it, they're going to want to keep it. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/10/02/wonkbook-th
is-is-what-the-republicans-were-afraid-of/]

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Butch Matthews is a 61-year-old former small business owner from Little Rock, Arkansas who used to wake up every morning at 4 A.M. to deliver canned beverages to retailers before retiring in 2010. A lifelong Republican, he was heavily skeptical of the Affordable Care Act when it first passed. “I did not think that Obamacare was going to be a good plan, I did not think that it was going to help me at all,” he told ThinkProgress over the phone.

But after doing a little research, Matthews eventually realized how much the law could help him. And on Tuesday, his local Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS) provider confirmed that he would be able to buy a far better plan than his current policy while saving at least $13,000 per year through Arkansas’ Obamacare

Matthews was self-employed between 1997 and 2010, meaning he had to purchase his own plan on the individual market. He chose a Blue Cross Blue Shield plan for himself and his wife that charged a $250 per month premium and had a $2,000 deductible. But the price of that policy kept rising even as it covered fewer of his costs, eventually devolving into his current rate of $1,069 per month with a $10,000 deductible. At this point, it doesn’t even cover his medication or doctors’ visits — particularly concerning considering he had to have two stents placed in his heart in 2006.

“I do not work now, I’m 61, and we do have assets saved up. But still, to come up with that $1,069 per month….” he said, trailing off. “I went to Blue Cross Blue Shield, and they don’t even sell that plan anymore, but I could not change it to anything else. So I was locked in with it.”

That all changed once Obamacare’s state-level marketplaces opened to the public on Tuesday. Matthews knew that, at his income level, the law would help him pay for insurance. But even he might not have expected just how good of a deal he could get: his new coverage will cost him absolutely nothing in monthly premiums after factoring in federal subsidies, and has a deductible of $750.

“Which is a lot different from $10,000,” he pointed out, laughing.

The mid-level “Silver” policy that he picked out also offers a significantly better benefits package. “It’s a lot better plan,” Matthews said. His old plan was considered to be “Bronze” and had much higher co-pays. Under Obamacare, when Matthews visits a doctor, it will no longer cost him around $150. It will cost $8.

So what would Matthews tell other Americans who are skeptical about Obamacare? “I would tell them to learn more about it before they start talking bad about it,” he noted. “Be more informed, get more information, take your time and study and not just go by just what you hear on one side or the other. Actually check the facts on it.” http://thinkprogress.org/health/2013/10/02/2721501/butch-matthews-obam
acare-convert/]

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Clint Murphy is a 38 year old Republican operative. He worked for Republican US Senator Paul Coverdell in the 1990s, Republican Casey Cagle in 2006, John McCain in 2008, and Republican Karen Handel’s gubernatorial campaign in 2010.

According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution Murphy posted a rather striking Facebook message. In the post he said, “When you say you’re against it, you’re saying that you don’t want people like me to have health insurance.”

When Murphy worked for Senator McCain he had coverage with their group plan. As a real estate agent he is responsible for his own health insurance.

Murphy had a bout with testicular cancer in 2000. After four bouts of chemotherapy, he was cancer free, in remission by 2004. His insurance then paid those bills. He would later find out the reality most supporting Obamacare have been fighting against for years. Insurance companies will use any type of pre-existing condition to deny coverage.

Murphy likely thought that having been cancer free for 10 years he would have no problems finding insurance. It turns out something as simple as sleep apnea turned out to be the pre-existing condition that got his insurance denied.

He is currently without health insurance. He said as soon as the exchanges open up in Georgia, he will be signing up for Obamacare.

Just like Clint Murphy has seen the light, millions of Americans now opposing the law will as well. As lies and misinformation from the Right Wing and from Republicans are disinfected by the reality on the ground, Americans will love the law and Conservatives will take a credibility hit that all must hold them accountable for. http://egbertowillies.com/2013/08/19/see-why-this-republican-operative
-became-obamacare-supporter-clint-murphy/]

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I'm sure if the Federal government had mandated centralized certification as part of the program, the outcry from assholes on the right would have been even louder. But since this is supposed to allow states flexibility (states' rights, remember?) this is a very state-to-state program. That means each state has its own requirements. A national program would have been closer to that infamous "socialized medicine" that all y'all have been screaming about.

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Seems like the Repos are more scared that it will be a success, and that people will embrace affordable health care

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Tomorrow is the the 44th anniversary of Medicare, a government-sponsored health care program that provides health coverage to virtually all of the nation’s elderly and a large share of people with disabilities. While Medicare is not without its problems, it has dramatically improved access to health care, allowed seniors to live longer and healthier lives, contributed to the desegregation of southern hospitals, and has become one of the most popular government programs.

At the time, conservatives strongly opposed Medicare, warning that a government-run program would lead to socialism in America:

Ronald Reagan: “(I)f you don’t [stop Medicare] and I don’t do it, one of these days you and I are going to spend our sunset years telling our children and our children’s children what it once was like in America when men were free.” [1961]

George H.W. Bush: Described Medicare in 1964 as “socialized medicine.” [1964]

Barry Goldwater: “Having given our pensioners their medical care in kind, why not food baskets, why not public housing accommodations, why not vacation resorts, why not a ration of cigarettes for those who smoke and of beer for those who drink.” [1964]

Bob Dole: In 1996, while running for the Presidency, Dole openly bragged that he was one of 12 House members who voted against creating Medicare in 1965. “I was there, fighting the fight, voting against Medicare . . . because we knew it wouldn’t work in 1965.” [1965]

Over the years, Republicans proposed numerous schemes to slash funding or privatize Medicare. Most notably, in 1995, under the leadership of then House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA), Republicans proposed cutting 14% from projected Medicare spending over seven years and forcing millions of elderly recipients into managed health care programs or HMOs. The cuts were to ensure that Medicare is “going to wither on the vine,” Gingrich explained. Similarly, during the 2008 Presidential campaign, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) proposed cutting $1.3 trillion from Medicare and Medicaid.

But while Republicans have sought to undermine the program, seniors have benefited from it. Since 1965, “the health of the elderly population has improved, as measured by both longevity and functional status.” In fact, according to a study from Health Affairs, life expectancy at age 65 increased from 14.3 years in 1960 to 17.8 years in 1998 and the chronically disabled elderly population declined from 24.9 percent in 1982 to 21.3 percent in 1994.”

Prior to Medicare, “about one-half of America’s seniors did not have hospital insurance,” “more than one in four elderly were estimated to go without medical care due to cost concerns,” and one in three seniors were living in poverty. Today, nearly all seniors have access to affordable health care and only about 14 percent of seniors are below the poverty line.

Moreover, a recent survey from the Commonwealth Fund, found that “elderly Medicare beneficiaries reported greater overall satisfaction with their health coverage, better access to care, and fewer problems paying medical bills than people covered by employer-sponsored plans.” In fact, Medicare is so popular that most Americans support expanding Medicare coverage to Americans aged 55 to 64. According to a recent Kaiser Family Foundation poll, “over half of Americans (53 percent) “strongly” support such a proposal and an additional 26 percent say they support it somewhat, totaling 79 percent backing.” http://thinkprogress.org/health/2009/07/29/170887/medicare-44/

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