(Bloomberg Politics) – Since its inception, critics of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act have warned that the legislation will prove disastrous for the nation. From dire predictions of job losses in the millions, exploding premiums, a steep jump in the number of uninsured Americans, and a return to economic recession, the pessimistic prognostication from many of the current crop of Republican presidential hopefuls has been especially pronounced. 

But as the country heads into the second full year under Obamacare, there has been scant evidence of many of the doom and gloom scenarios made by the law's staunchest critics. 

For instance, the United States is in the midst of an employment boom, with a record 59 straight months of job creation, including the period that overlaps with Obamacare's 2014 start date. The number of uninsured Americans has plummeted as a result of the law, and an impressive 11.4 million Americans have now signed up for coverage. As a result, the rate in the rise of healthcare costs has slowed to a record low. To top things off, the nation's economy grew in 2014 at the fastest rate since the great recession. 

Continue Reading for Free

Register and gain access to:

  • Breaking benefits news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
  • Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
  • Critical converage of the property casualty insurance and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, PropertyCasualty360 and ThinkAdvisor
NOT FOR REPRINT

© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.