Why the Affordable Care Act isn't going to fail...

[elfs]

As some of you may recall, I'm a big fan of the red state / blue state thesis, that there are distinct and competing sets of family values inherent in these two terms, breezily defined by the ideas "Families create adults," and "Adults create families." Red states believe that becoming parents is what steels men and women into adulthood, that the responsibility of caring for children encourages men and women to mature. Blue states believe that time and experience create adults, and only when you are old enough and mature enough should you become parents. Red states encourage early marriage and family formation and discourage contraception, at the expense of education and career development. Blue states encourage education and contraception, and encourage late marriage and family formation at the expense of creating large families.

Which is why the Affordable Care Act isn't going to fail. To the extent that this dichotomy is real, the people who need the ACA most are young red state families-- those who formed families early and young, but who have neither the education nor the experience to have jobs that provide health care coverage. You might convince the "young invincibles" to forgo health care. You can't convince those with their own small children to deny their children health care coverage.

And Ezra Klein finds evidence that ths is th case. More Republicans in their 20s are availing themselves of ACA coverage than Democrats. I expect this trend to continue.

Comments

[tagryn]

Sure, everybody loves a freebie which is what extending coverage to young adults looks like to them. As long as Obamacare translates to “universal free health care (with emphasis on the free)” people will support it. When it starts meaning more money coming out of their pocket, which starts happening next year, that's when the acid test will occur.