With the ACA again taking center stage, we’ll be hearing a lot of strong rhetoric, and many will wonder how that stiff language may shape public opinion. With few exceptions, the data show that the answer is very little. The federal government’s role in the health-care system has been a recurring political issue for generations, and we should be skeptical of the idea that specific rhetorical flourishes will change the basic trade-offs that Americans perceive to be at the heart of the debate.
(Illustration from the first day of ACA arguments by artist Bill Hennessy, via Lorna Baldwin)
The Dish 