By Gerald F. Seib | The Wall Street Journal
The rollout of the Affordable Care Act is in trouble, functionally and politically, and the simplest critique of the new health law is that it’s simply proving too complicated. Indeed, its complexity—the need for multiple pieces to work in harmony from the outset—is the single best explanation of why its introduction has been so problematic.
What’s less recognized is why the new law is so complex in the first place: It represents what may be the biggest attempt ever to weave together big-government impulses with free-market forces.
The White House is playing catch-up in the race to rectify the glitchy Obamacare rollout. What does it mean for the future of the program? Also: Iran may still strike a deal with the U.S. on its nuclear stocks, despite the failure of talks in Geneva.
That is what sets Obamacare apart from other big efforts at social engineering. The effort to improve health care would be much simpler—though no less controversial—if it instead took the form of the dream system that either liberals or conservatives would love to create.
Do you have a grasp of Obamacare? Use the comment box at the end of the story.
