Obamacare and obstructionism

With the launch of the new state health insurance exchanges on Oct. 1, HSPH professor Atul Gawande writes in a New Yorker editorial about three forms of obstructionism taking place to hinder the rollout: some states not accepting federal funds to expand their Medicaid programs, some refusing to operate state health exchanges, and some conservatives trying to persuade young people to not purchase insurance.

“Conservatives keep hoping that they can drive the system to collapse. That won’t happen,” said Gawande, a writer for the magazine. “Enough people, states, and health-care interests are committed to making it work, just as the Massachusetts version has for the past seven years.”