The Ten Year War: Obamacare and the Unfinished Crusade for Universal Coverage
NPR Interview: new book by Jonathan Cohn
Obamacare, the Affordable Care Act, was passed in 2010. Since then, there have been many unsuccessful attempts by Republicans to kill it. The left has been pushing to have the government insure everyone directly through what’s described as “Medicare for All.” Now this debate is happening during a pandemic, when health care is at the forefront of people’s minds.
My guest, Jonathan Cohn, is the author of the new book “The Ten Year War: Obamacare And The Unfinished Crusade For Universal Coverage.” It’s about the politics and special interest groups that shaped the Affordable Care Act, the ACA. He writes, figuring out how to fix American health care has never been entirely or even primarily about what kind of system would work best; it’s also been about what kind of changes can actually survive the political process. His book focuses on that political process, dating back to the 1920s. He’s been reporting on health care since the late ’90s. He’s a former senior editor at The New Republic and is now senior national correspondent at HuffPost, where he covers politics and policy and has been focusing lately on COVID.
