Improving the ACA (with small update)

I'm not interested in bailing-out the Republicans who are strangling on their own incompetence with regard to the Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare), but it does need improving. So, I'm going to suggest a path forward, in hopes there is enough capacity in the Congress and our new president to do something useful.

First, discover the consensus set of most important things about our current ACA which are broken. It could be as few as 3 things or it may be a dozen. Whatever the experts know is broken, those are the things which should be discussed now.

Second, Democrats should consider ways to help the program bend toward the things the people in red states say they need and away from what they hate. For example, if they don't like the individual tax, then do away with it and let another tax stream pay for it. If interstate healthcare tax sales require federal law changes, then accommodate that to bring a greater range of products to all states (probably the smaller population states require the most help with this).  If the amount of aid states get under the Medicaid program is too low, then increase that.

Small update: Since the mandate is very unpopular it should be reconsidered, but require all states to open exchanges so their people can partake if they like.

Review all the issues.

Clearly there are issues which have been disputed since the plan's beginning, but there are also issues which have arisen since it's activation and those all need to be fixed or improved.

Once Congress has the important ideas agreed to, then write a bipartisan amendment (or set of amendments) and pass it.

I know this sounds idealistic and simplistic, but sometimes that is what Congress requires to get moving.

The catch? In exchange for this cooperation the Republicans have to endorse the final product and perhaps rename it to put an end to the public's negative reaction to the nickname "Obamacare".

So far the idea of having two or three different kinds of program which each state can choose isn't gaining support. It's too complicated and leaves me wondering what would happen to the parts of the ACA which are not state-based, but bind the entire healthcare industry.

Before anyone gets excited, I suggest this approach should take at least six months (minimum), so the discussion among the experts (in healthcare) and the politicians and the CBO can reach sound long-lasting agreements. No hurry, better results.