Peter Suderman on Why Jonathan Gruber Is Very Much An Obamacare “Architect”

In the space of a week, Jonathan Gruber has become a non-person
in Washington. Until last Monday, the MIT health economist was
widely and uncontroversially cited as an “architect” of the
Affordable Care Act, a go-to expert about the law’s politics and
mechanics.

But after multiple videos surfaced in which Gruber said or
implied that the bill’s backers relied on deception and an
assumption of voter stupidity in order to pass it, Obamacare’s
backers moved swiftly to distance themselves from Gruber and
downplay his role in the creation of the law. 

The reactions from Obama, Nancy Pelosi, and others were, for the
most part, technically true—but nonetheless misleading about
Gruber’s influence on the law. At a minimum, they were not fully
transparent about his role. In attempting to downplay Gruber’s
remarks, writes Reason Senior Editor Peter Suderman,
Obamacare’s supporters instead proved him right.

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