Health Care Reform Report Card: “B” Grade Overall

An interactive graphic in yesterday’s New York Times looks at the three “Rs” of health care reform: Roll-out, Reaction (by the public and the two political parties), and Results (cost-lowering and increased coverage) and gives a solid “B” grade to the overall effort. This factors in an “F” grade for support by the Republican Party, and a “D” grade based on rulings in recent federal court challenges to the individual mandate component of PPACA. Federal activity to implement reform was given the sole “A” grade. The piece notes that portions of the law’s budget are already “embedded in mandatory tax and spending provisions” and hence would not be affected by Republican measures to “de-fund” PPACA implementation – more details on that point (e.g., what reform measures remain unfunded) would be helpful. It also observes that 27 of the 28 states whose attorneys general or governors have challeneged the constitutionality of PPACA in federal courts have also accepted federal funding towards establishment of insurance exchanges. In all the piece does a good job of differentiating the political rhetoric from the nuts and bolts of reform implementation.