An indication of how effectively the ACA has moved the discussion on healthcare to the left, Benjamin Domenech, publisher of the libertarian The Federalist website, argues for single-payer catastrophic health coverage for all Americans, with additional coverage for preventive, pre-natal and medicines.

A small percentage of patients, suffering major and chronic ailments, account for the majority of healthcare spending: the Washington Post piece considers the implications.

The Trump administration has federal funding for Planned Parenthood on the chopping block. Access to Planned Parenthood reduces both teen births and STDs, according to a recent study by a Yale University researcher. A report by the Washington Post.

Refusal to set up exchanges or accept federal funds for Medicaid expansion, a barrage of lawsuits aimed at chief provisions in the law: right-wing politicians have done everything in their power to render ACA ineffectual, explains Yale Law professor Abbe  Gluck in the New York Times. Real healthcare reform will come, in the view of The Social Democrat, when a federal single payer system removes the threat of interference by right-wing state pols.

The U.S. spends substantially more on healthcare than other advanced economies yet occupies the bottom rung in health results. This piece on the Commonwealth Fund's site sums up the bad news.

Republicans’ attack upon Obamacare has galvanized commitment to universal coverage. If Republicans can repeal or gut the ACA, and millions of Americans lose coverage, the push toward single-payer will only intensify, writes Steve Chapman in The Chicago Tribune.