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They had about 4-5 months. https://www.beaconjournal.com/article/20120909/NEWS/30909944...

The Republican controlled Senate spent the other 7.5 years blocking most of the bills by the Democrats. They also attempted to repeal the ACA 70 times.

As to your "We effectively incentivize people to not get insurance", that was the point of the individual mandate which was repealed by the Republicans in 2017.

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Alright, if you want to be nitpicky, they had decades to devise a reform, years to agree on it within the party, and months to actually get it passed. It eventually did pass and it wasn't repealed.

> As to your "We effectively incentivize people to not get insurance", that was the point of the individual mandate which was repealed by the Republicans in 2017.

There never was an effective individual mandate, but if there had been, it most likely would've been ruled unconstitutional. Whether you pay a small fine or no fine whatsoever, you are ultimately incentivized to defer paying the far higher insurance premiums.

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