St. Joseph News-Press, Mo., Ken Newton column [St. Joseph News-Press, Mo.]

Oct. 01--That sweltering summer seems long ago, rhetoric heating the air as much as the afternoon sun.

Discontent boiled up in community rooms across the nation. And the hand-lettered sign industry flourished, one placard summing up many: "Your Health Care Plan is Making Me Sick."

So it went in August 2009, as members of Congress fanned out to take the temperature of their constituents during a summer recess. They had been in Washington with a recently inaugurated president and debating a plan to get more health insurance coverage to more Americans.

Fever only began to describe the mood at some of these meetings.

A video still available online shows a town hall meeting in Missouri with one man in a red-faced, finger-pointing rage aimed at U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill.

"This is more about taking power and control than it is about health care," the man roared. "It's only the first step to socialism."

Seven months later, the health care reforms that touched off all the yelling got signed into law. One might think the enactment of a law would take the steam out of opposition to it.

Instead, it only amplified the hollering.

The origins of this argument feel like they might have been in the Paleozoic Era. The drumbeat has become part of political rhythms for that long.

One fault resides with the law itself, a supremely thick, overly complicated measure with an implementation period that ran longer than a Kenyan marathoner. It almost invited a stretched-out debate.

Some parts of the Affordable Care Act kicked in right away. It allowed young people to stay on their parents' health plans longer. It provided some protections for people with pre-existing medical conditions.

In the meantime, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the individual mandate portion of the law passed constitutional muster, and a national election found the namesake advocate of the reform, President Obama, deserved a second term in office ... by almost 5 million votes.

Today, a key provision goes into effect. The marketplace for health insurance options opens, and millions of uninsured Americans can begin shopping for a market-based policy that suits them. The health coverage starts on Jan. 1.

Is this the ideal way for the world's richest nation to assure the medical well-being of its population?

Know this: The federal government could mess up the workings of a soda straw. Congress can't get out of its own way to pass a budget. Know who can pass a budget? The nonpaid board of aldermen in the smallest Northwest Missouri town.

Despite years of lead time, the workings of the health care law seem frighteningly half-ready. Word of Miley Cyrus twerking goes around the world in moments; can't the most powerful government on the planet keep the websites operating?

But also know this: Many of the lawmakers railing against ObamaCare sat in Congress when the number of uninsured Americans began to mount. In the early 2000s, Republicans had full control in Washington, with the presidency and majorities in both legislative chambers.

They did nothing to address the problem. Yet they ask now for trust to "repeal and replace" a reform law already on the books.

History waits to decide whether ObamaCare stands as an expensive flop or a program worthy of a great country.

But as Americans watch the circus in Washington, they have to wonder whether three years of theatrics might have been put to better use trying to improve the Affordable Care Act.

Ken Newton's column runs on Tuesday and

Sunday. Follow him on Twitter: @SJNPNewton.

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