Supporters of the new Affordable Care Act have recently launched the “Thanks Obamacare!” campaign to highlight the law’s positive aspects. Unfortunately several of the features the campaign praises are provisions that haven’t taken effect yet and won’t until 2014. That highlights the political malpractice in the design and timing of the APA.

There is a widely believed myth that a Republican Senate could not use reconciliation to repeal most of the provisions of the Affordable Care Act. But that view ignores the history of how the reconciliation rules have been used, as well as the ability of a Senate majority to interpret or change its rules.