It's finally here. Three-and-half years after the Affordable Care Act was signed into law, the Obamacare health care exchanges are up and running — sort of.
In the weeks leading up to the October 1 launch, we've seen small businesses receive a one-month reprieve, heard reports about unqualified and unscreened "facilitators" helping people sign up, and witnessed the emergence of entire websites dedicated to pointing out failures of the controversial program.
According to Les Funtleyder, health care strategist at Poliwogg, the next few days, weeks and months will highlight many unintended consequences and reveal very little in terms of actual activity or enrollment.
Related: What Every Investor Needs to Know About Health Care
"Given how polarized our politicians are, every glitch is going to be magnified," Funtleyder says in the attached video. "I think we're going to see a lot of news about glitches, and I don't think we're going to see a lot of good news in the next month or so."
Funtleyder will be watching a few key factors, such as the number of young people that actually enroll, as well as the amount of people who get pushed out of the commercial system and into the new online shopping service.
The real test, however, won't come until next year. Funtleyder and others will have to wait and see if the largest social program ever made will take flight or enter a ''death spiral" — a lethal condition in which claims outpace enrollment and, in turn, force premiums to go up and future enrollment to dry up.
Read More »from Obamacare Exchanges Open: Beware of the ‘Death Spiral’