The Failed Implementation of the ACA is a Serious Problem

Yes, the fact that the opposition party is determined to sabotage it is a serious problem. Yes, there are genuinely difficult challenges involved, and hopefully we won’t be hearing any more from instant amateur health policy experts who assure us that Harry Reid was an idiot for not having the whole ACA go into effect within a few weeks. But Ezra’s bottom line on the problems with executing the ACA exchanges is right:

We’re now negative 14 days until the Affordable Care Act and most people still can’t purchase insurance. The magnitude of this failure is stunning. Yes, the federal health-care law is a complicated project, government IT rules are a mess, and the scrutiny has been overwhelming. But the Obama administration knew all that going in. They should’ve been able to build an online portal that works.

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The Obama administration’s top job isn’t beating the Republicans. It’s running the government well. On this — the most important initiative they’ve launched — they’ve run the government badly. They deserve all the criticism they’re getting and more.

The clown car in the House of Representatives has meant that the failed rollout isn’t the political disaster it could have been, and Medicare Part D shows that if it is made to work within a reasonable time frame people will forget about the failed launch. But it needs to be made to work, soon, and people responsible for the failure need to be held accountable.