OPINION: ObamaCare myths and realities

State exchanges were a Republican idea, and early evidence shows they're working 

By Wendell Potter
6:00 am, May 13, 2013 Updated: 2:06 pm, May 13, 2013

The House of Representatives is expected to vote for the 40^th time this week to repeal ObamaCare, not because anyone believes the 40^th time will be the charm, but because the exercise will enable Republican freshmen to vote for repeal and brag about it during their campaigns next year.

Those lawmakers probably won’t tell their constituents that two of the most important provisions of the law they profess to hate were actually Republican ideas the Democrats embraced in hopes of getting bipartisan support for reform. The first such provision is the requirement that all Americans not covered by a public plan like Medicare or Medicaid must buy coverage from a private insurance company. The second provision: establishment of state health insurance marketplaces (called exchanges in the law) where private insurers compete online for customers.