PBS’s NewsHour did a segment last night with CHIR’s Sabrina Corlette and the American Enterprise Institute’s Joe Antos. Both Corlette and Antos agreed that while early glitches have received a lot of attention this week, they are not an indicator of the law’s success or failure. The real focus should be on the Affordable Care Act’s impact on people’s access to comprehensive and affordable health insurance.

In the discussion that followed, the guests highlighted some of the benefits of the ACA. Antos said that people with pre-existing conditions now shut out of insurance will soon gain access to coverage under the law’s guaranteed issue and non-discrimination rules. And he said employees of small employers will have better and more affordable options than they now have access to through their small employers.  Corlette highlighted the ways the law has already helped contain health care costs, which has been especially important for employers struggling to provide health benefits in the face of health care’s ever-increasing price tag.

Ultimately, both Antos and Corlette agreed that to really judge the success of the ACA and the Health Insurance Marketplaces, we’ll have to wait until early next year. That’s when consumers will start using their coverage and benefiting from the financial protection that meaningful insurance provides.

You can find their discussion here.