Abstract
Obamacare Wars: Federalism, State Politics and the Affordable Care Act provides insight into policy and program implementation of a complex and politically contentious law. One cannot understand contemporary health policy or most U.S. social welfare policy absent a detailed examination of federalism and intergovernmental relations. Implementation research is critical because it is where programs become real; where policy impacts people. Béland et al. provide this type of analysis through case studies of elements of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). A review of the main themes of the book is followed by a critique and thoughts about how the book could build on existing work toward a more comprehensive theoretical framework for understanding intergovernmental relations across the policy process.