Viewpoints: 'Pinocchios' for the Koch brothers; Obamacare 'miracle'; the law's effect on hiring

The New York Times' Taking Notes: More 'Pinocchios' For The Koch Brothers, Please
The health care ads being run by Americans for Prosperity -; one of the many frantically waving arms of the Koch brothers -; are a gift to fact checkers everywhere. Because they deliberately twist the truth to persuade people to "stop supporting Obamacare," they have become a machine for producing "Pinocchios," the mendacity rating system used by Glenn Kessler at The Washington Post (David Firestone, 4/24). 

USA Today: Obamacare Enrollment Miracle Or Fact? Column 
Reading the news in recent days, it's difficult to escape the impression there has been a miracle. Obamacare worked. Despite a troubled launch, disappointing early numbers and cynicism from across the political spectrum, the Affordable Care Act came through. A total of 8 million Americans have enrolled, even more than the number set by outgoing Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius as a benchmark for success (Emmett Rensin, 4/24).

The Wall Street Journal: The Obamacare Jobless 
A new survey demonstrates the Affordable Care Act's negative impact on employment. According to the Journal, "nearly half of small-business owners with at least five employees, or 45% of those polled, said they had had to curb their hiring plans because of the health law, and almost a third-;29%-;said they had been forced to make staff cuts, according to a U.S. Bancorp survey of 3,173 owners with less than $10 million in annual revenue that will be released Thursday" (James Freeman, 4/24).

McClatchy: GOP Should Stop Fighting Obamacare And Work To Improve It
There's a big difference between principle and pigheadedness. While claiming to uphold the first, congressional Republican opponents of the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) are really engaging in the second. It's time for the GOP to accept that the ACA is the law of the land, recognize the good it has done and will do, and work with Democrats to fix the defects that are inevitable in such a large and complex program (Rice, 4/24).

The Wall Street Journal: Uncover Oregon
"This thing is working," President Obama instructed the other day, and liberals got the message to ignore ObamaCare's ongoing dysfunctions. The reality is different, especially in states like Oregon, which pulled the plug on its insurance exchange on Thursday. Democratic Governor John Kitzhaber promised to lead the nation on ObamaCare and he did-;from behind. The worst-in-America launch collapsed even harder than Healthcare.gov. The exchange website known as Cover Oregon still hasn't enrolled one person, and the state has spent about $7 million signing up merely 69,000 people manually using paper applications (4/24).

The Washington Post: Virginia Plays Chicken With Medicaid 
When state governments shut down, people notice that something is badly amiss, possibly even more so than when the federal government closes. In Virginia, where Republicans in the House of Delegates have dug in their heels against Gov. Terry McAuliffe's plan to expand Medicaid, the possibility of a shutdown this summer is growing, and the experience in other states is not exactly heartening (4/24).

Reuters:  Look Beyond Medicare Data When Shopping For Health Care
The recent release of Medicare billing records for doctors across the United States brought hope that consumers would get what they need to comparison-shop for healthcare. Although that did not turn out to be true, you do have other places to look (Lipka, 4/25). 

WBUR: Project Louise: Eat Like A Teenager? Not Anymore
So now here we are again, and once again I'm on a road trip with my son – only to the Cape this time, so I'm safe from Signore Cassano … for now. But I've still been tempted, most recently this morning, to abandon all restraint and eat as if I were a 16-year-old boy, with the metabolism to match. Only here's the thing: I can't (Louise Kennedy, 4/24).