In case the title of the blog doesn't make its thrust clear, here's a snippet from Seth's opening post:
This blog is going to chronicle what I believe will be the implosion of the Affordable Care Act. I do not believe the Exchange based system of providing health insurance without medical underwriting is likely to work or that, if it does, it will not need far more massive propping up from federal taxes than is conventionally recognized. We’ll be looking at current events, the history of the Act, important court cases, and regulatory developments. Our tools will be a careful review of primary documents, some graphical and mathematical analyses, and references to important and insightful articles written by others.
Also, there is more to the Affordable Care Act than the Exchanges. There is more than the individual mandate. There is the employer mandate, the complex systems of federal reinsurance needed to backstop the Act, the reintroduction of medical underwriting under the “wellness label” and so much more. We’ll try as time permits to take a look at developments in these important areas too.
Seth — who is an insurance law expert — notes the "need for some hard and at least somewhat scientific look at what is going on." So far, since beginning the blog some 48 hours ago, he has tackled the Upton Bill intended to address the "if you like your health care plan you can keep it" issue (which passed the House this afternoon with the help of 39 Democrats and now heads to the Senate); yesterday's announced "Obamafix," intended to address the same issue; whether the ACA's little-known reinsurance and risk adjustment provisions could make exchanges more resilient to the underenrollment that many, including Seth, anticipate; and five questions journalists should be asking about the ACA (hint: fewer questions about how the rollout is likely to affect the careers of pols; more questions about the winners and losers under the ACA among the rest of us).
Welcome to the blawgosphere, Seth.
[Cross-posted at Bill of Health]
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