On January 1st America's health-care system will be transformed. At least that is what Barack Obama intended when he signed the Affordable Care Act, which everyone calls "Obamacare". With less than six months to go, on July 2nd the White House said that a key requirement-that companies provide health insurance for their workers or pay a fine-would be postponed until 2015. It is the latest in a series of recent setbacks. Implementing such a gargantuan law was never going to be easy. But each step has proved more difficult than planned. The health market is maddeningly complex, and political opposition has been fierce. Important provisions are due to take effect in 2014: the mandate that individuals buy insurance, the creation of state health exchanges on which they can buy it, and the expansion of Medicaid, the public health programme for the poor. But each week, new doubts emerge about when and whether these things will happen.
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机译：1月1日，美国的医疗保健系统将发生变化。至少这就是巴拉克·奥巴马（Barack Obama）签署《可负担医疗法案》（Affordable Care Act）时的意图，该法案被大家称为“奥巴马医保”。白宫还不到六个月的时间，在7月2日表示，一项关键要求-公司为工人提供医疗保险或支付罚款-将推迟到2015年。这是最近一系列挫折中的最新一次。实施如此庞大的法律绝非易事。但是事实证明，每个步骤都比计划的难。卫生市场极其复杂，政治反对派也非常激烈。重要条款将于2014年生效：个人购买保险的授权，建立可以购买保险的州健康交易所以及扩大医疗补助计划（穷人的公共卫生计划）。但是每周，都会出现关于何时以及是否会发生这些事情的新疑问。
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