Nov 12 2013
Even as Republican lawmakers took a hard line during the weekend talk shows, Democrats still maintain the measure will, in the end, be a political advantage.
The Associated Press/Washington Post: Republicans Seize On Health Law's Growing Problems To Slam Democrats, Brighten Hopes For 2014
The health care law's seemingly endless problems are giving congressional Republicans a much-needed boost of energy, helping them to move past the government-shutdown debacle and focus on a theme for next year's elections. Republicans are back on offense, and more quickly than many had expected, after seeing their approval ratings plunge during last month's partial shutdown and worrisome talk of a possible U.S. debt default (11/11).
The Wall Street Journal: Health-Law Rollout Weighs On Obama's Ratings, Agenda
President Barack Obama, bogged down by problems with his signature health-care program, is seeing both his approval and personal-favorability ratings with Americans sag, creating new complications for his second-term agenda. During past turbulence in Washington, Americans' approval of the job Mr. Obama is doing dipped. But in those stretches, Mr. Obama was buoyed by voters' general admiration for him as a person and by their trust in his credibility (Nicholas and Nelson, 11/10).
CBS News: GOP On Obamacare Rollout: 'This Is What Betrayal Looks Like'
Rep. Todd Young, R-Ind., slammed President Obama for committing "betrayal" in the weekly Republican address on Saturday, claiming the president misled Americans when he assured them that, under the new health care reform law, they could keep their insurance plan if they liked it. Young relayed stories of Indiana residents whose insurance has been canceled or become more expensive under the new law. "This is what betrayal looks like," he said. "Here you have hardworking people who were repeatedly told not to worry, that their coverage would stay the same and - if anything - their costs would go down. Just the opposite is happening" (Miller, 11/9).
Kaiser Health News also tracked weekend health policy headlines, including news about how Republicans are seeking to rebound and take advantage of issues surrounding the health law (11/10).
Politico: Wasserman Schultz: Future Dems Will Run On Obamacare
Obamacare didn't harm Democrats in last week's elections and, in fact, could be a boon to future candidates, the chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee said Sunday. "I think actually that Democrats will be able to run on Obamacare as an advantage," Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) said on CNN's "State of the Union." Despite recent issues with the Obamacare rollout and the website, she said Americans are starting to see the benefits of the new health plan (Munsil, 11/10).
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 This article was reprinted from kaiserhealthnews.org with permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Kaiser Health News, an editorially independent news service, is a program of the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonpartisan health care policy research organization unaffiliated with Kaiser Permanente.
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