After the Cliff Comes Obamacare

Once the matter of the fiscal cliff is resolved, as is likely by early next year at the latest, it would be nice to contemplate a reprieve from Washington. Unfortunately, there will be no such luck. Apart from the crying need for fundamental fiscal reform, a new urgency will develop around the implementation of Obamacare, more formally known as the Affordable Care Act. The law dictates full implementation by January 2014. Despite the Supreme Court decision affirming the healthcare law and the president’s re-election, the matter is proving to be more complex and politically fraught then even pessimists expected. The attendant uncertainties will disrupt plans and planning throughout the economy at least the next 12 to 24 months.