The Ten Year War is a look back at the 'crusade' for universal healthcare coverage, and a sequel to Cohen’s earlier book.

The party is now in a position to learn from its mistakes, to apply the lessons of the Obamacare fight to the big policy conflicts of today. The only problem is that no one can agree on what those lessons are.

The author, a seasoned health-care reporter, demonstrates sourcing and meticulous research that usher readers inside a lot of rooms where federal health policy was debated and decided during more than the 10 years of the book’s title. Yet Cohn is so wedded to the steady cadence of his chronology that he seldom lingers to reflect on truly revealing or portentous moments...while giving equal weight to nuances and subplots that only an ardent policy wonk might savor.

Acclaimed journalist Cohn is recognized as an expert on health care legislation, and within the framework of tracing the history of the Affordable Care Act passed by the Obama administration, he provides a précis of political shenanigans, governmental gridlock, and policy wrangling in a how-the-sausage-gets-made look at the legislative machinations that went into the ACA’s creation.

Cohn delivers an engrossing behind-the-scenes account of the fight to pass the Affordable Care Act in 2010. Drawing on interviews with President Obama and other key players, Cohn illustrates how the compromises needed to pass the legislation left progressive advocates unsatisfied and led to Medicare for All becoming a central issue of the 2020 Democratic primary. Cohn also sketches the history of healthcare as a political cause.

In a book that took 10 years to research and write, journalist Cohn offers a thorough history of the persistent controversy over health care insurance in the U.S.