Now, the rubber hits the road. As of today, millions of Americans will begin getting health coverage under the Affordable Care Act and over the next few months, we’ll find out which claims are myths, which are reality, and which are outright lies – on both sides.
One reality is that for the most part, 80 percent of Americans will not see a difference. Those are the people who are covered by an employer or government policy. The remaining 20 percent are uninsured or individuals who purchased their own health plans. Despite the sluggish start in the sign-up, White House officials say nearly 6 million people will begin their coverage as of today.
That number includes students, who, in Massachusetts, were not eligible for free or subsidized coverage, forcing them to pay thousands of dollars for a mandatory health plan at their schools if they aren’t on their parents’ plan. But under the new federal law, and thanks in part to a couple local undergraduates, students who aren’t covered by their parents can receive free or heavily subsidized plans.
That is just one of the many changes that have flown under the radar screen drowned out by the cacophony from both sides. A number of media outlets are running primers on just what Obamacare is and isn’t as well as what the effects are for everyone.
Opponents for years have been hammering away at the “socialist” backbone of Obamacare and pumped up the reported fees and taxes. The recent glitches in the Healthcare.gov website as well as the millions of policy cancellations after President Obama‘s now-disproven claim that “if you like your health plan, you can keep it” have helped fuel the opposition and kept Obama on the defensive. But the website underwent major renovations and the administration extended the deadline, resulting in millions of last-minute sign-ups for the January 1 enrollment.
The coverage losses have always been a little more complex than the black and white presentations for either side. People whose policies were canceled lost them because the plans did not meet the minimal requirements for “creditable” coverage the law requires, a nuance that Obama failed to articulate when he repeatedly made his claim. But Democrats on the House Committee on Energy and Commerce released a report this week that shows only about 10,000 individuals will lose coverage without being able to buy new plans rather than the Republican-estimated 5 million people booted by insurance companies they say will be affected.
In addition to the extensions and new waivers, other parts of the ACA will not go into effect today after Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor blocked the controversial mandate that required religious-affiliated employers to cover contraception. It is the second challenge to the provision that the court has agreed to hear, the other being a suit by two for-profit companies.
But don’t think the issue will be resolved with a simple thing like facts. Republicans have resolved to keep the focus on Obamacare through the midterm elections and into the presidential race. That’s borne out by the fact that The Boston Globe reports at least 30 medical doctors are running for Congress this year, at least 24 of them Republicans. Their mantra, for the most part, is that no one can speak more credibly about the law’s pitfalls than them. Of course, the unspoken part of the rationale behind both the federal and Massachusetts’ pioneering health care laws is an attempt to rein in spiraling medical costs, many of them paid to providers.
–JACK SULLIVAN
BEACON HILL
Gov. Deval Patrick says new ideas are needed to address homelessness, the Associated Press reports.
MUNICIPAL MATTERS
Daniel Rivera, about to be sworn in as the mayor of Lawrence, says he will oppose the establishment of any medical marijuana facilities in the community, the Eagle-Tribune reports.
Milton officials are considering an amnesty program to try to get nearly 500 residents who have not paid sewer fees to voluntarily cut a check because of undocumented connections, some dating back decades.
Boston power brokers offer advice to Marty Walsh. The Herald floats the name of Charlotte Golar Richie for Boston Redevelopment Authority director.
Robert Campbell offers a lengthy review of 20 years of urban design and architecture under Tom Menino.As with so many of these assessments of the outgoing mayor’s tenure, however, it’s very hard to say what things Menino actually shaped versus what things just happened while he was mayor.
There are many unanswered questions after an East Boston woman was crushed and killed by a drawbridge as she walked across the span that connects her home neighborhood with Chelsea.
CASINOS
The Aquinnah Wampanoag have filed a motion to move the state’s suit against the Martha’s Vineyard tribe to federal court.
The Mashpee Wampanoag are expecting approval today from federal officials for their revised compact with the state for their proposed Taunton casino.
Anti-casino activists from East Boston and Palmer will unite to oppose Mohegan Sun‘s bid to open a casino on Suffolk Downs in Revere.
NATIONAL POLITICS/WASHINGTON
The United States population grew by 0.7 percent in 2013 while the rest of the world increased by 1.1 percent. Massachusetts, by the way, equaled the national average while outpacing the rest of New England.
Bill de Blasio takes over New York City Hall, as the New York Times rains on his lefty parade.
E.J. Dionne says get ready for more, as he declares that the left is back.
ELECTIONS
The Boston Teachers Union says it had no prior knowledge of the $480,000 its national union, the American Federation of Teachers, laundered through a New Jersey conduit into the Boston mayor’s race on behalf of Marty Walsh. Scot Lehigh wonders what the AFT gets for its money. Walsh tells him they get nothing.
The Wall Street Journal previews the 2014 midterms.
Colorado begins the new year in a blaze of smoke.
BUSINESS/ECONOMY
Recreational marijuana stores open in Colorado, Governing reports.
The Globe reports that 2014 could be a year for software and web IPOs.
ENERGY/ENVIRONMENT
A new mandatory recycling program in Salem seems to be working, with more than 300 tons of waste diverted at a savings of $20,000, the Salem News reports.
CRIMINAL JUSTICE
A Dorchester woman is not walking into the new year as well as she might have.
MEDIA
In editorials, the New York Times and the Guardian urge President Obama to grant clemency to Edward Snowden.
The Wall Street Journal examines Warren Buffett‘s newspaper bets.
