How Republicans blew their best chance to dismantle ObamaCare

On January 1, the actual insurance part will kick in for many Americans

President Obama
(Image credit: (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images))

On October 1, nonessential functions of the federal government ground to a halt as Republicans dug in against ObamaCare. On the very same day, the health-care exchanges created by ObamaCare went live, albeit with a glitch-plagued rollout.

Early hiccups with the exchanges — a central piece of the health-care law, which allows the uninsured to shop for coverage and obtain federal subsidies — were a debacle for the White House. However, the shutdown "obscured widespread problems" with the law, wrote The New York Times's Robert Pear, "giving the administration time to work out the kinks."

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Jon Terbush

Jon Terbush is an associate editor at TheWeek.com covering politics, sports, and other things he finds interesting. He has previously written for Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, and Business Insider.