New Beast column about the need for liberals to acknowledge the benefits of the Affordable Care Act:

Many provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2009 won’t be implemented until 2014, but much of the low-hanging fruit started Thursday. One such juicy apple is that insurers will no longer be allowed to deny coverage to children on the basis of pre-existing conditions. That means Emily will be covered, as will the Thompson family’s son Andrew, who’s been diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder. It’s true that covering Emily will mean slightly higher costs for everyone whose kids don’t get sick. But this is how insurance is supposed to work. Small payments by the healthy majority allow the sick minority to avoid financial calamity. That saves lives, keeps families together, and gives peace of mind to everyone.

And as Joe Biden memorably observed on the day the bill was signed into law, it’s a big fucking deal.

There’s a lot to complain about with regard to the Obama administration’s record. And the Affordable Care Act has shortcomings. Most of those shortcomings are due to the obstructionism of congressional Republicans and the shortsightedness of “moderate” congressional Democrats, but it’s not wrong to say that the administration’s approach to the issue did not achieve a standard of pristine flawlessness. But then again, nobody’s perfect. Fundamentally, this week we are beginning a process of ending a series of monstrous social injustices driven by a completely irrational approach to a critical issue. This week we’re also watching the unveiling of a new Republican “Pledge to America” that promises to repeal the ACA, kick Emily off her health insurance, and speed the unraveling of the current system so as to ensure more uninsurable Emilys in the future.

And perversely, nobody on the left seems to know or care.

Just saying.