Juan Williams delivers one of the most concise and on point 'short essays' I've read about 'ObamaCare' complete with what hasn't worked well.......

Just in time for the two-year anniversary of the passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on the law’s constitutionality this week.......

In my world of people and politics there are two relevant issues. First, does the law provide better medical care for Americans? And is it reducing the cost of healthcare?

There are other valid criticisms out there, but all of it amounts to nothing compared to the law’s success.

Already, the Obama healthcare reform has succeeded in preventing insurance companies from discriminating against people with preexisting conditions and allowing young adults to stay on their parent’s health insurance until they turn 26. And many other parts of the law have begun to improve the lives of millions of Americans.

For example, it already requires insurance companies to provide coverage for preventive services such as immunization, screenings and counseling services. In 2011, almost 33 million Medicare beneficiaries and 54 million Americans with private insurance used these services for free. Starting this summer, millions of women will be able to have free mammograms and health counseling.

The Act also closed the costly prescription drug coverage gap in Medicare Part D, more commonly known as the “doughnut hole.” Four million seniors and disabled citizens have saved an estimated $3.2 billion on prescription drugs. More savings are ahead as the law becomes fully implemented.

Americans enrolled in Medicare Advantage — or “Medicare Part C” — have had their premiums lowered by 16 percent since 2010, giving seniors access to inexpensive, quality healthcare.

Also, due to new enforcement powers given to the Departments of Justice and Health and Human Services, $4.1 billion in fraudulent Medicare claims were stopped in 2011. This constitutes the single largest sum ever recovered in a single year from individuals and companies attempting to defraud the American taxpayer.

The bottom line is the reforms are leading to higher-quality care and increasing consumer protection while bending the cost curve of healthcare.

Back in 2009, then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Congress must pass healthcare reform so the American people can find out what is in it. This was an unfortunate statement. It led GOP critics to say Democrats want the public to buy the metaphorical “Pig in Poke.”

But based on what the nation has now seen of the law, the pig is looking like a blue-ribbon winner, a good deal for seniors and the middle class. The only question is whether a good idea can survive bad-mouthing from GOP politicians and hard-right politics on the Supreme Court.