Dr. Tim Johnson's 'Truth About Obamacare:' Is The Law Doomed?

"Tumultuous," is how Dr. Timothy Johnson describes the recent roll-out of Obamacare in his latest podcast. (Click on the "play" arrow above right to listen.) And that's not nearly strong enough, he adds. "Many people are saying Obamacare is doomed," in the wake of all the current Website and insurance problems, he says.

Is it? Dr. Johnson, retired medical editor for ABC News and author of ”The Truth About Getting Sick in America,” discusses the outlook with his regular podcast guests: John McDonough, a professor at the Harvard School of Public Health; Dr. Gail Wilensky, a health official under the first President Bush and Larry Levitt, a senior vice president at the Kaiser Family Foundation.

The first answer to the "Is it doomed?" question comes from McDonough, who offers a clear "no."

"I'm just dumbfounded by the media's unbelievable hyperventilation about every small detail and the implications it has for the law as a whole and Obama's presidency and the fate of the republic," he says. "This is on track to open up affordable coverage for tens of millions of Americans starting Jan. 1. Once we get past Jan 1, i don't believe there's any retreat...and I think we will get through this difficult patch."

Wilensky agrees that the law is not doomed, but adds:

"There is a problem, and it's not just that people are having great difficulty accessing the Website, some of whom are at risk of losing their individually purchased insurance by the end of the December....The most serious issue is that there has been a real loss in trust in the president, and that is way more of an issue than the hiccups that have gone on with regard to the Website. When people don't feel like they can trust what their president says, it has ramifications far greater than the Affordable Care Act. And wait until people discover the second part of the president's pledge -- 'And if you like your doctor you can keep your doctor' -- isn't true either, not for a lot of people. That's the next shoe that's going to fall."

Listen to the full podcast above, and check out Dr. Johnson's previous Obamacare podcasts here, here and here.