It’s been three years since the Affordable Care Act was passed. The Democrats praised this legislation as the cure to our health-care system. President Obama and the Democratic leaders campaigned on this utopian idea of lower premiums and universal coverage for all.

Unfortunately, the opposite is happening. This law of 2,700 pages of taxation, restrictions and government regulations is creating a backlash of opposition from business leaders and the general public.

The reality is millions of people have seen their health-care premiums increase by 46 percent, even with federal tax credits and premium assistance. In addition, the Congressional Budget Office …

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Re: “School funding without taxes sacrifices the poor” (editorial, 4-25).

In an otherwise excellent editorial about the no-new-taxes Senate’s failure to fund programs for our most vulnerable, The News Tribune embraces “co-payments for Medicaid.”

Medicaid expansion will be funded 100 percent by the federal government, which means co-pays would, at best, return federal tax dollars. Then they would create Medicaid bad debt for providers unable to collect payments from the medically indigent. Having represented long-term care providers I can attest there is no worse debt than Medicaid bad debt.

Under federal law, hospitals cannot refuse care to anyone presenting …

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The failure of the Senate to pass the background checks bill is another example of a Congress that is increasingly unresponsive to the will of most Americans. It matters little that a majority of Americans favored strengthening of federal background checks. The opinion of a private gun club, the NRA, is more important to them.

The NRA seems to have as much power as many government agencies, if not more, and it is not accountable to American citizens. Other examples of congressional unwillingness to act affect consumer protection and public safety. Consider the following examples:

• Many senators and representatives …

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Notwithstanding cartoonist Michael Ramirez’s twisted cartoon about the Affordable Care Act (TNT, 2-11), more people in the 18-to-25 age group have medical insurance than before the act. They continue to be covered by their parents’ insurance.

The ranks of the uninsured dropped to 22.7 percent in January, down from 27.6 percent uninsured in January 2009, President Bush’s last month in office.

Next year, when other provisions of the act kick in, the percentage of uninsured in the 26-to-64 age group is expected to drop. Almost all people 65 and above (97.6 percent) will still enjoy the benefits of Medicare.

As Washington state voters, we can be proud of our legislators in Olympia for their hard work and dedication to the task of setting up our Health Care Exchange. As a result of their diligence, our state is one of the most prepared for the inclusive changes that will take place in January 2014.

But unless legislators implement full expansion of the Medicaid program — an expansion that will be federally funded for the first three years — the Affordable Care Act will not be as inclusive as intended. Without Medicaid expansion, approximately 250,000 low-income adults in Washington will have …

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Re: “Unreformed health care a threat to Washington’s future” (Viewpoint, 1-24).

As a health care provider myself, I agree that we need to bring down spending on health care while at the same time ensuring access for all. Unfortunately Dr. Nathan Schlicher didn’t mention the best method for doing this: a single-payer health care system.

The achievements and flaws of the Affordable Care Act are quickly becoming evident, and “best practices” (such as those Schlicher lobbied for in place of planned Medicaid cuts) are good but not sufficient. Our taxes already pay for 60 percent of health care in …

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Why is our respect for the Constitution only partisan deep?

Over the last 11 years, I’ve noticed that people only respect the Constitution when it fits their parties’ political motives. When the Patriot Act was passed, so many left-leaning citizens were outraged over the infringement of their constitutional rights to due process. After Barack Obama was elected, I didn’t hear a peep from the left about the National Defense Authorization Act, which is just as damaging to our rights as the Patriot Act, if not worse.

Then the folks on the right started preaching that the Affordable Care Act is …

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How about that. The News Tribune editorial board, Katie Baird and even Eugene Robinson found religion. All of them are telling us the fiscal cliff agreement which will bring in $100 billion per year won’t do much to cut the deficit. Sound familiar?

The Republicans have been saying that for years President Obama’s tax plan, taxing only the top 2 to 3 percent, would bring in only $70 billion to $80 billion per year. That amount, like the $100 billion per year from the fiscal cliff deal, wouldn’t have cut much of the deficit either. The mainstream media never questioned …

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