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'Wait, Is This Thing On?': Health Care Reporters Share Obamacare War Wounds

Long Nights, Epic Fights And Bad Hot Dogs: Reporters Share Obamacare War Wounds
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By 

Senior Politics Editor, HuffPost

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The open enrollment period for Obamacare ended in April, and with it came a form of closure for all of the people who worked on health care reform.

For the past four years, operatives, politicians, aides, lobbyists, activists and the like have toiled, first to craft a bill and then to defend it. They watched Congress nearly derail the prospects of reform and the Supreme Court nearly rule it unconstitutional. They waded through a presidential election during which repeal was on the table. They saw the launch of the health insurance exchanges marred by a glitchy website. And then they observed more than 8 million people sign up for insurance through those same exchanges.

Health care reporters documented the process every step of the way. And now that it's over, they have a chance to relax a bit and reflect on everything that happened. The Huffington Post figured we would facilitate that relaxation and tape that reflection.

In the first part of a series titled "Wait, Is This Thing On?" we brought together four of the top health care reporters in the business: Sarah Kliff of Vox, Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News, Alex Wayne of Bloomberg News and Jeffrey Young of The Huffington Post. Over some beers, they discussed virtually every element of the Affordable Care Act, from its construction and ultimate passage to its failures and triumphs.

The whole thing was basically an excuse to imbibe. But along the way, they also exchanged stories on everything from the most overwrought Obamacare controversy, to the one early enrollee that EVERY media outlet decided to interview, to how a hot dog vending machine became a legitimate food option for reporters covering the story.

We hope you enjoy it -- at least more than you would enjoy a hot dog that came from a vending machine.

Watch the video above. Here's an index of key moments in the discussion:

00:00 - Meet The Reporters
04:10 - Why Did It Take So Long To Pass Obamacare?
07:52 - The Rise And Fall Of Sen. Ben Nelson
10:19 - The Historic Sunday Of The Bill's Passage
12:16 - The White House Media Strategy (Or Lack Thereof)
14:24 - Critiquing The Press
15:33 - The Story Of The Bungled Website
18:00 - Canceled Plans Become A Scandal
20:34 - Chad Henderson Causes A Media Fiasco
24:16 - The Future Of Obamacare

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Before You Go

Health Care Reform Efforts In U.S. History
1912(01 of17)
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Former President Theodore Roosevelt champions national health insurance as he unsuccessfully tries to ride his progressive Bull Moose Party back to the White House. (credit:Topical Press Agency/Getty Images)
1935(02 of17)
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President Franklin D. Roosevelt favors creating national health insurance amid the Great Depression but decides to push for Social Security first. (credit:Keystone/Getty Images)
1942(03 of17)
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Roosevelt establishes wage and price controls during World War II. Businesses can't attract workers with higher pay so they compete through added benefits, including health insurance, which grows into a workplace perk. (credit:Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
1945(04 of17)
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President Harry Truman calls on Congress to create a national insurance program for those who pay voluntary fees. The American Medical Association denounces the idea as "socialized medicine" and it goes nowhere. (credit:Keystone/Getty Images)
1960(05 of17)
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John F. Kennedy makes health care a major campaign issue but as president can't get a plan for the elderly through Congress. (credit:Keystone/Getty Images)
1965 (06 of17)
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President Lyndon B. Johnson's legendary arm-twisting and a Congress dominated by his fellow Democrats lead to creation of two landmark government health programs: Medicare for the elderly and Medicaid for the poor. (credit:AFP/Getty Images)
1974(07 of17)
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President Richard Nixon wants to require employers to cover their workers and create federal subsidies to help everyone else buy private insurance. The Watergate scandal intervenes. (credit:Keystone/Getty Images)
1976(08 of17)
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President Jimmy Carter pushes a mandatory national health plan, but economic recession helps push it aside. (credit:Central Press/Getty Images)
1986(09 of17)
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President Ronald Reagan signs COBRA, a requirement that employers let former workers stay on the company health plan for 18 months after leaving a job, with workers bearing the cost. (credit:MIKE SARGENT/AFP/Getty Images)
1988(10 of17)
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Congress expands Medicare by adding a prescription drug benefit and catastrophic care coverage. It doesn't last long. Barraged by protests from older Americans upset about paying a tax to finance the additional coverage, Congress repeals the law the next year. (credit:TIM SLOAN/AFP/Getty Images)
1993(11 of17)
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President Bill Clinton puts first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton in charge of developing what becomes a 1,300-page plan for universal coverage. It requires businesses to cover their workers and mandates that everyone have health insurance. The plan meets Republican opposition, divides Democrats and comes under a firestorm of lobbying from businesses and the health care industry. It dies in the Senate. (credit:PAUL J. RICHARDS/AFP/Getty Images)
1997(12 of17)
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Clinton signs bipartisan legislation creating a state-federal program to provide coverage for millions of children in families of modest means whose incomes are too high to qualify for Medicaid. (credit:JAMAL A. WILSON/AFP/Getty Images)
2003(13 of17)
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President George W. Bush persuades Congress to add prescription drug coverage to Medicare in a major expansion of the program for older people. (credit:STEPHEN JAFFE/AFP/Getty Images)
2008(14 of17)
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Hillary Clinton promotes a sweeping health care plan in her bid for the Democratic presidential nomination. She loses to Barack Obama, who has a less comprehensive plan. (credit:PAUL RICHARDS/AFP/Getty Images)
2009(15 of17)
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President Barack Obama and the Democratic-controlled Congress spend an intense year ironing out legislation to require most companies to cover their workers; mandate that everyone have coverage or pay a fine; require insurance companies to accept all comers, regardless of any pre-existing conditions; and assist people who can't afford insurance. (credit:Alex Wong/Getty Images)
2010(16 of17)
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With no Republican support, Congress passes the measure, designed to extend health care coverage to more than 30 million uninsured people. Republican opponents scorned the law as "Obamacare." (credit:Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
2012(17 of17)
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On a campaign tour in the Midwest, Obama himself embraces the term "Obamacare" and says the law shows "I do care." (credit:BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images)
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