From an Ask Me Anything at Reddit that Sarah Kliff, Washington Post health reporter, just did about the Affordable Care Act:

“Question:

Does the success/failure of healthcare.gov necessarily guarantee the success/failure of the ACA?

Sarah Kliff:

Great question. I would say that the success/failure of healthcare.gov is tied to the success/failure of the ACA in that it’s a doorway to purchasing coverage under the new law. If people can’t get into the store, then there’s not much of a shot at expanding health insurance coverage.

The assumption is that, at some point, the site will be fixed (what point is another excellent question). And then we’ll get a sense of whether the products being sold on healthcare.gov are ones that Americans want to purchase. But without a functioning store, it’s hard to get a good gauge of interest.”