Volume 383, Issue 9928, 3 May 2014
WORLD REPORT Millions of Americans met the mid-April extended deadline to enrol in coverage under the Affordable Care Act; now the real test of the law begins. Susan Jaffe reports from Washington, DC.
Just a few days after April’s extended enrolment deadline, President Barack Obama announced that some 8 million Americans had signed up for health insurance under his health-care law, exceeding the predictions dampened by a rocky rollout 6 months ago that prompted jokes on late-night talk shows, fuelled the opposition, and ultimately led to the resignation of his Health and Human Services secretary, Kathleen Sebelius, the nation’s top health official.
“The repeal debate is and should be over”, Obama proclaimed, referring to the 54 times Republicans in the US House of Representatives have voted to repeal or modify the law. “The Affordable Care Act [ACA] is working.”
But even the programme’s supporters say the next few months will be crucial to its success. [MORE] [PDF]