The government shutdown is over, but the purported reason for shutting down the government, the high cost of the health insurance under the Affordable Care Act, has not been addressed. Because the ACA is a complicated, politically charged beast, we should not expect Congress to address this issue in a meaningful manner.

The ACA made several important changes to the health care system.

Insurance companies could no longer deny coverage for pre-existing conditions. This is significant because many people were unable to obtain coverage for serious medical conditions. Undoubtedly this increased premium costs in the short run, but prevented people from going bankrupt because of health problems.

Individuals were required to have insurance coverage. This is the so-called individual mandate where people who did not obtain health insurance coverage were subjected to a tax exceeding the cost of obtaining insurance coverage.

Without an individual mandate, insurance companies cannot be expected to provide affordable coverage without imposing restrictions on pre-existing conditions.

State-run insurance exchanges created a marketplace where insurance companies could sell coverage on a competitive basis. Residents of states having more robust exchanges typically enjoy more competitive pricing.

Some of the ACA’s most important features, including the individual........

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