By Executive Order

Welcome to the roller coaster ride of the Affordable Health Care rollout, or could we call it that? I've come to wonder whether the this ride does not contain within it a microcosm of American Govern-ment in this century. First off it is difficult to discern who will loose and who will win, once people can even enroll. The facts of this legislation have been hidden behind non-issues, half truths and outright lies. Setting aside the issue of accountability for the failure of the rollout, who will be better off and who will be worse off, once those who must enroll have enrolled? It is a fair question, regardless of where one stands on the issue of health care/insurance reform. 

It was settled by the Constitution, the laws, and the whole practice of the government that the entire executive power is vested in the President of the United StateIs. -Andrew Jackson

According to Charles Ornstein, reporting on "Pro Publica," assuming healthcare.gov begins anew and timely, there will be actual winners and losers (i.e., real people gaining or losing ground in their health care coverage.) Here is the link to the entire article:

http://www.propublica.org/article/a-month-in-to-healthcaregov-real-life-winners-and-losers

• First are young people, many of whom are struggling in today's job market. They can remain covered by their parents' insurance, until they turn 26. I am biased here, because one of my grandsons will benefit from this provision.
• Next are people with pre-existing medical conditions, who cannot any longer be denied coverage for those conditions. Again, someone in my family qualifies.
• Next are poor and working poor people in states that have opted to expand their Medicaid programs, to cover people who are truly in need, those whose incomes are up to 138% of the federal poverty level. Incredibly enough, there are plenty of people who qualify (at an annual income of $32,499 for a family of four.) 

All well and good, but, in light of the hysteria, who will lose ground?

People in states that opted not to expand their Medicaid programs. These states will lose in terms of numbers of uninsured people, who should have been helped by the Affordable Health Care Act. 

• First are small businesses. They are among the missing, and the Obama Administration continues to delay creating a marketplace for them. It is difficult to predict how soon the Administration will rectify this.
• Next are people whose new (complying) insurance will cost them more in premiums, but who will be compensated by the government for the difference between what they will pay, versus what they have paid.
• The actual losers in the reshuffle are those who will pay more for their new insurance coverage, but who will not qualify for government compensation. The quality of their coverage will not improve sufficiently to offset the difference in cost.

In fact something on the order of 80% of Americans, who are working, and whose employers pay for their health coverage, are unaffected.

Meanwhile back at the S.N.A.F.U. of healthcare.gov, it has negated short-term wins and winners; it is an expensive loss from any angle. Long term, cost containment in health care and insurance rates, which could make much of this mess worthwhile, will take, by some estimates, a decade to be realized.

Here, to me, is what makes all this American government in a nutshell. The President of the United States, besides being constantly battered in partisan grudge matches, is so reliant upon contractors to effect just about anything, he can neither smell smoke, nor put out fires ... certainly not by executive order.