Contention continues a year later

News outlets remark on the continuing ferocity of the health overhaul debate — even a year later — as its advocates and detractors continue efforts to advance or block the measure's implementation.

Los Angeles Times: A Year Later, Health Care Reform Still In Contention
Wednesday marked the first anniversary of the health care law that advocates said would change so much. In one sense, they were right: The battle over President Obama's signal domestic policy goal played a major role in transforming the political landscape (Oliphant, 3/24).

McClatchy: A Year Later, Still No Cure For Politics In Health Care
Dr. David Cull, a prominent vascular surgeon in Greenville, S.C., had invented a small valve system that could spare 300,000 dialysis patients across the country enormous suffering — and save American taxpayers billions of dollars in Medicare costs. Yet, Cull's hometown senator, Jim DeMint, refused to write a letter supporting the surgeon's application for a federal grant … The dynamic between Cull and DeMint shows that a year after the law took effect, political warfare between its opponents and supporters continues to trump the search for better and more affordable health care (Rosen, 3/23).

The Connecticut Mirror: On Health Reform Anniversary, Dems Celebrate While GOP Pledges Repeal
Congressional Republicans used Wednesday's one-year anniversary of the health care reform law to tout their continued attacks on the measure — from full repeal to targeted defunding efforts. ... [But] since taking power in January, Republican leaders have passed two stop-gap spending bills that include funding for the law's continued implementation. The disconnect between rhetoric and reality highlights a GOP conundrum on health reform. Even as the party continues to attack the law, their options for unraveling it are limited. And pushing the issue too far is fraught with risk (Shesgreen and Becker, 3/23).

Politico: Michelle Obama Touts Health Law
Michelle Obama on Wednesday weighed in on the one-year anniversary of the health care law her husband signed into law, arguing that the changes will help parents raise a generation of "happy and healthy kids" (Parnes, 3/23).

The Philadelphia Inquirer: Pros, Cons Still Spinning Year-Old Health Care Law
As regional secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, (Joanne Corte Grossi) is crisscrossing her territory to sell a confused nation on the merits of the health care overhaul law that turns one year old Wednesday. Since President Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act into law a year ago, federal lawsuits against it have abounded and, in January, the U.S. House voted, in a largely symbolic act, to repeal the measure (Von Bergen, 3/23).

The New York Times' The Caucus: Boehner, McConnell Push Assault On Health Care Law
A year after President Obama signed his health care law into effect, the two leading Republicans in Congress are making it clear that they do not intend to let up in their assault on the historic measure. In a joint opinion article to be published in the Cincinnati Enquirer Wednesday morning, House Speaker John Boehner and Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican leader, promise to continue pursuing "full repeal" of the law (Shear, 3/23).

Modern Healthcare: Lawmaker Notes Insurers' Opposition
Health insurance companies are at least partly to blame for the lack of an increase in public support for the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in the year since its enactment, according to a vocal Democratic defender of the law. Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y) told liberal activists at the Center for American Progress Wednesday that the law has not gained in popularity since its enactment, in part, because some of its supporters are "hiding under the desk" in the face of Republican criticisms (Daly, 3/23).