Another delay: Obamacare mishmash suggests more trouble on the way

The idea is good: Make sure every American has access to affordable health care.

But the problem with the Obamacare plan -- and its subsequent execution -- is that the devil will remain in the details.

And that is why Job 1 for 2014 absolutely must be figuring out all the catches, glitches and concerns that could end up changing all Americans' health care options.

Even though the site is now up and running, the problems remain -- not enough healthy people willing to pay the price to sign up and some people still getting astronomical bills to get the coverage that the government tells them they should have.

Add to that the large number of doctors and health care professionals who say the Obamacare system will harm providers and access to care for all Americans -- and those who are getting out because they cannot afford to treat patients based on the government reimbursement formula, and you have warning sirens going off everywhere.

And we had better heed them.

We need a system to provide affordable care to those who cannot get it. And there should be new rules about pre-existing conditions.

But it is becoming obvious that this attempt to fix those problems is fraught with the kind of errors that occur when you do not do your homework.

And there are consequences that go along with that sort of legislation -- long-term ones.

We need to make sure we take action now to create a better solution -- before it is too late.

Published in Editorials on December 26, 2013 11:26 AM