Ever throw a Obamacare Repeal Bill and nobody came? So did the GOP! In fact, they’ve thrown a ton of Repeal Bill do’s that went nowhere, as Think Progress reminds us:

House Republicans have unsuccessfully voted 33 times in the last two years to eliminate health care reform and wasted at least 88 hours and $50 million, while failing to pass a single piece of job creation legislation in the last session of Congress.

Dozens of Republicans, including 2012 presidential candidate Mitt Romney, ran against Obamacare, yet the party suffered losses every step along the way.

But this time it was downright embarrassing. In House GOP: Relief for Sandy victims can wait! We have Obamacare repealing to do! I shared this tweet from Michele Bachmann:

Here’s where poor ‘Chele’s hopes get dashed. Think Progress:

In a sign that the GOP’s anti-Obamacare fervor may finally be giving way to political reality, Rep. Michele Bachmann’s (R-MN) latest Obamacare repeal bill doesn’t have a single co-sponsor in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives. [...]

And two other anti-Obamacare bills — one to repeal the law’s individual insurance mandate and another introduced by Rep. Steve King (R-IA) to repeal the whole law — also do not have any co-sponsors… Public support for repealing the reform law has plunged to an all-time low as Americans begin experiencing its positive effects.

The Affordable Care act isn’t even fully operative yet, but Americans have discovered its benefits, and will see more in the next couple of years. By 2015, it will be fully implemented. Here’s a timeline of what’s changing and when (more at the link):

Coming in 2013: The Health Insurance Marketplace

Individuals and small businesses can buy affordable and qualified health benefit plans in this new transparent and competitive insurance marketplace. Open enrollment begins October 1, 2013.

Coming in 2014: Tax Credits for Families

Tax credits to help the middle class afford insurance will become available for those with income between 100% and 400% of the poverty line who are not eligible for other affordable coverage.

 

Effective January 1, 2013

 

To expand the number of Americans receiving preventive care, the law provides new funding to state Medicaid programs that choose to cover preventive services for patients at little or no cost.

 

Effective January 1, 2013

 

As Medicaid programs and providers prepare to cover more patients in 2014, the Act requires states to pay primary care physicians no less than 100% of Medicare payment rates in 2013 and 2014 for primary care services. The increase is fully funded by the federal government.

 

Effective no later than January 1, 2013.

 

The law establishes a national pilot program to encourage hospitals, doctors, and other providers to work together to improve the coordination and quality of patient care.  Under payment “bundling,” hospitals, doctors, and providers are paid a flat rate for an episode of care rather than the current fragmented system where each service or test or bundles of items or services are billed separately to Medicare. For example, instead of a surgical procedure generating multiple claims from multiple providers, the entire team is compensated with a “bundled” payment that provides incentives to deliver health care services more efficiently while maintaining or improving quality of care. It aligns the incentives of those delivering care, and savings are shared between providers and the Medicare program.

Effective January 1, 2014

The law prohibits new plans and existing group plans from imposing annual dollar limits on the amount of coverage an individual may receive.

Learn how the law will phase out annual limits by 2014

Effective January 1, 2014

The law implements strong reforms that prohibit insurance companies from refusing to sell coverage or renew policies because of an individual’s pre-existing conditions. Also, in the individual and small group market, it eliminates the ability of insurance companies to charge higher rates due to gender or health status.

Learn more about protecting Americans with pre-existing conditions

Effective January 1, 2014   

The law implements the second phase of the small business tax credit for qualified small businesses and small non-profit organizations. In this phase, the credit is up to 50% of the employer’s contribution to provide health insurance for employees.  There is also up to a 35% credit for small non-profit organizations.

Learn more about the small business tax credit

Effective January 1, 2015

A new provision will tie physician payments to the quality of care they provide. Physicians will see their payments modified so that those who provide higher value care will receive higher payments than those who provide lower quality care.

Elections have consequences.