"More Americans Would Find Out that the Law Mainly Does Things They Strongly Favor"

"So what does the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act do apart from the individual mandate? Three big things.
"First, private insurance companies will be required not to deny or revoke insurance because of preexisting conditions. They can still make good profits, but not by dumping sick people or avoiding people who might become sick. Second, Medicaid will be expanded to cover about 16 million additional low-income people, and generous tax credits will be provided to help businesses and middle-class Americans afford private health insurance plans. Third, the law requires each state to establish an exchange, or virtual marketplace, where people and businesses can comparison shop for health plans and find out which tax credits they can use to help pay for a plan of their choice.
"These steps are the essence of the Affordable Care Act—and although we rarely hear about it, polling shows that 60% to 70% of Americans, including a majority of Republicans, favor these core provisions."

On the eve of the Supreme Court's Obamacare ruling, Theda Skocpol and Lawrence R. Jacobs argue in the Los Angeles Times that "the mandate brouhaha is truly much ado about almost nothing."