Obamacare: In critical condition but expected to survive

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is moving through its first full year of implementation in 2011, faced with a court challenge to the constitutionality of mandatory health insurance and the everyday pitfalls of partisan politics. It appears to be following the path of other reform measures that were considered problematic - Social Security and Medicare, most notably. At the time they were passed, many critics predicted they wouldn't last a decade, and while our current economic crisis appears to threaten their solvency, these institutions have so far survived the test of time. Once again, as time and history will tell us, health reform could offer Americans positive opportunities in the areas of prevention and early intervention. The new law requires insurance companies to offer at no cost to the insured preventive screenings for certain conditions. This move is expected to save money over time and will also result in earlier treatment and hopefully, fewer adverse effects that can lead to costly hospitalizations. In Medicare, for example, enrollees are entitled to a wellness checkup once a year and personalized prevention plans. All new Medicare plans offer prevention services with no out-of-pocket costs. It's an evolving process that could save time and lives over time and one of the brightest spots in the somewhat confusing list of new measures Americans will face in the coming years. Still to be decided: the constitutionality of mandatory health insurance...Stay tuned.