Chasing the Ghosts of the Affordable Care Act

Almost 14 years ago, President Barack Obama signed into law the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The law survived a series of legal and political challenges during its implementation, but they came at a cost to its initial ambitions. In a forthcoming study, “The Ghosts of the Affordable Care Act,” Miami University Law Professor Gabriel Scheffler examines the enactment-entrenchment trade-offs that limit the scope and durability of major social program legislation. The ACA was never repealed, but significant parts of it were “replaced” or discarded.