Sorry, but I don't buy the "But we couldn't have gotten single-payer" defense

[ljm2002]

122. ACA began moving in that direction...

...for the two points you cite, but it has not come even close to accomplishing that for everyone.

There are still requirements for employers of over 50 people and who make >$500,000/yr to provide health coverage. It's more complicated and I don't claim to understand how the new rules affect employees and whether they are still tied to their company's coverage -- I'm out of the corporate world, thank God(dess)(deity)(nature)(universe)(whatever forces there be)!

There are still tens of millions of Americans without any coverage. True, some have made that choice; but many cannot afford it under the new law, and many reside in red states where Medicaid expansion was refused by their Republican governors. Now this cannot be directly blamed on the ACA, to be sure -- the Supreme Court got into the act to allow states to refuse the expansion. But, even for those who do have coverage, we still must deal with high deductibles and co-pays and partial coverage, so many people will still be avoiding dealing with health issues until they become urgent.

Anyway you are correct that movement has occurred in the right direction on these issues.