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The real numbers (which they DO know, but don’t reveal) are much worse than the speculation has it. The numbers signing up are probably, if not satisfactory, of such total that the program might survive.

Except for one small glitch. Sign-ups are NOT actual enrollees. There is no mechanism for the information collected by the website to be transmitted to the participating insurance companies. In fact, a very large percentage those who believe they are covered, even under the rather unhelpful terms of very large deductibles and co-pays, find that the benefits never kick in, because the insurance company involved cannot find their records of enrollment or payment for the coverage, which was never transmitted to them from the website. These unfortunate individuals are learning not only were they unable to keep the insurance coverage they once had, they cannot obtain current coverage.

Some few were able to qualify for Medicaid, but that is almost the same as no coverage at all, because there are fewer and fewer doctors or medical facilities that will take on new Medicaid patients, and waits for services stretch out to weeks or even months. This can be disastrous to fatal in some instances. And those who manage to get through all the red tape and delays are found to no longer be adversely affected by the original complaint. The old adage, “It’s usually better in the morning”, is so very true of so many complaints, but this is the very thing that clogs up the system, deferring help for the truly needy.

But hey, people who never had coverage before are now covered. Trouble is, there are now many MORE who once had coverage, that could not, or would not attempt to regain even minimal coverage now, with the very real situation where there are FEWER people with coverage than there were on September 1, 2013. Altogether, a net loss.

And it only promises to become much worse, as employers find it is easier and less expensive to discontinue providing coverage to their employees altogether. The penalties and fines for not complying fully with the mandates written into the “Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010” are more than merely punitive, they threaten the very existence of the place of employment as a viable enterprise. And this at a time when the economy already cannot provide sufficient numbers of jobs, more businesses are going to be forced to close up shop?

Who, pray, shall fund all this demand upon the treasuries of state and Federal government? Though the Current Regime will not confront the reality of the situation, the badly mis-named “Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010” is the most destructive piece of legislation passed since the “National Industrial Recovery Act” of June, 1933. The Supreme Court of the time, in its collective wisdom, found the first part, which included something called “Public Works Administration” and “National Recovery Act”, to be unconstitutional in 1935, as most of the business community had totally soured on the terms of that legislation. There was far more punishment than reward in the regulations that grew out of that monstrosity, and it is comparable to the TARP Reform and Accountability Act of 2009, which passed the House but never made it through the Senate.

The “Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010” was the engine by which the economic stability and potential for prosperity have been largely stymied and thwarted since 2013, as the provisions have started to kick in and spread their venom throughout the system.

Rush Limbaugh said of the Current Occupant now squatting in the White Hut, back in 2009, “I hope he fails.” Failure is very much a viable option now, and for the good of that territory once known as “the United States of America”, it has to happen.