So writes JLF head John Hood in a column last week. John’s article begins:
Remember all the brouhaha from last fall’s Washington showdown and government shutdown? The dispute purportedly pitted Republicans intent on repealing Obamacare against the president and Democrats intent on preserving the legislation.
In reality, the Obama administration, with the blessing of its allies on Capitol Hill, is already in the midst of amending, suspending, or eliminating the Affordable Care Act’s most consequential and controversial provisions. If the process continues into 2015 and 2016, and particularly if the GOP wins control of the U.S. Senate this November, what remains of Obamacare can without great difficulty be integrated into a real, market-based reform of American health care — a pro-competition, pro-consumer system remarkably similar to what conservatives and Republicans have long advocated.
What we are watching, in other words, is a slow-motion repeal and replacement of Obamacare.
You can read more of the column here.