Tuesday was a big day in the political world: The government officially shut down for the first time in 17 years and Obamacare implementation began with the opening of insurance exchanges. While the bickering continued in Congress, 800,000 government employees were furloughed, nearly 9 million low-income women and children saw their benefits threatened, and Republicans tried to downplay the shutdown’s effects. The shutdown also closed memorials in the capitol, but that didn’t stop a group of visiting World War II veterans who pushed aside the barricades and toured the site. Chris Hayes will talk with White House Press Secretary Jay Carney, Sen. Chris Murphy, and Rep. Jan Schakowsky of Illinois about where we stand, 20 hours into the shutdown.
Chris will also be joined by two life-long Republicans, Bruce Bartlett, former deputy assistant secretary for economic policy under President George H.W. Bush, and Mike Lofren, former staff member on the House & Senate Budget Committees, about how their party has gone off the rails since the rise of the Tea Party.
Plus: Nearly 3 million people visited the HealthCare.gov website when it opened Tuesday. Long wait times and other expected glitches did happen, but it was an historic day nevertheless. Dr. Kavita Patel, managing director at the Engelberg Center for Health Care Reform, will join Chris to talk about enrollment into the newly opened Obamacare exchanges.
Later, Marcelas Owens, a young health care advocate whose mother passed away after losing her health insurance, and his grandmother, Gina Owens, who is now a Grassroots Leader for the Washington Community Action network, will talk with Chris about what day one of the Affordable Care Act means for them and for uninsured people nationwide.
Rachel Simon
Rachel Simon is a writer and editor based in Raleigh, North Carolina. She is the author of “Pickleball for All: Everything but the ‘Kitchen’ Sink.” Her work has been published in The New York Times, Glamour, Vulture, Teen Vogue and more. You can find her at @rsimon113.