While Wisconsin remains among the states yet to take formal steps toward creating a health care exchange, Chris Murray, a lecturer at Marquette University's Les Aspin Center for Government in Washington, describes opposition to the Affordable Care Act as waning.
"A lot of this venting is a result of the elections. Over time, that will die down and what is left of it (push back) will be very much on the fringe," Murray told WUWM.
He added, "Even if you have disagreements with the policy, if you see opinion changing about it and you are a politician, you may realize it might become more and more in your interest to find a way to fix this and support it."
Why does he perceive public support for the ACA increasing?
"Once people see what the law does and how it benefits them...this decreases the level of opposition. It's always easier to oppose an abstract concept than something that has tangible benefits," Murray says.
As for the nine Wisconsin legislators and incoming representatives who've expressed an interest in arresting federal officials if they impose a health care exchange on Wisconsin because the state refuses to create its own, Murray says they seem to have created their own reality that is not terribly connected with the actual reality, and he would not expect them to be successful in any way.
"The reality is, that what they are proposing is totally impractical. Who are these federal officials? Who would arrest them? What would they be charged with," Murray said.
The Affordable Care Act requires each state to decide by Friday whether it will do the job, otherwise, the federal government will. Then each exchange or health care marketplace must be in place by the end of the year.
Gov. Walker has opposed the law and said he would not act, until learning whether President Obama won reelection. Now, people are awaiting the governor’s decision.
