Some still believe ACA will deliver.

• Position: ObamaCare - Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act

The controversial health care overhaul passed by Congress as the Affordable Care Act and then amended by the Reconciliation Act of 2010 includes changes in the Medicare program that are supposed to reduce the Federal deficit by $525,000,000,000 between now and 2019. Of this amount, about $424,000,000,000 comes from changes in coverage and payment rules. This includes limits on annual rate increases for hospitals and other providers that furnish health care to our nation's 46,000,000 elderly and disabled Medicare beneficiaries.

The ACA also includes cuts in payments to Medicare Advantage plans, private organizations that serve beneficiaries as an alternative to the original Medicare program--the remaining $100,000,000,000 is to come from new revenue sources for the Medicare trust funds.

These include changes in the Medicare payroll taxes paid by high-income earners and new fees for drug manufacturers and importers.

Skeptics of ACA say that cuts in provider payments are too sharp and could, over the long term, lead to reduced access or quality of care for Medicare patients. Congress eventually could face pressure to rescind the cuts, causing much of the purported budgetary...