For the average person without health care, the most important part of the Affordable Care Act is the “affordable” part. Even conservatives, who have enthusiastically maligned the idea of national health care fromt the start, want affordable doctor visits. So do liberals. We all do, and President Obama has promised that the increased competition of government-run insurance marketplaces will provide just that. But what is really affordable?
By March 2014 all uninsured Californians will be required to purchase healthcare through California’s insurance marketplace, Covered California, or pay a penalty that increases each year. If you don’t get insurance, over three years you will pay more than a grand to not have health care.