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Perhaps the most telling statistic about the Affordable Care Act as the controversial law turns four years old on Sunday is this: 70 percent of Americans still don鈥檛 know they could get their healthcare subsidized under the law.

But for those who do understand what the law is, what it does, and how it鈥檚 changing life in America, Obamacare鈥檚 4th anniversary is a major turning point for the biggest federal entitlement expansion since the 1960s.

To illustrate the stakes, nearly 40 鈥淢oral Monday鈥� protesters were arrested in Atlanta this week as they disrupted capitol proceedings to complain about Republican lawmakers opting the state out of the law鈥檚 Medicaid expansion.

President Obama meanwhile lauded the law鈥檚 impact on healthcare for women while Republican party chairman Reince Priebus called it a 鈥減oisonous issue鈥� for the ruling party in Washington, which has to face Obamacare鈥檚 liabilities in its defense of a Senate majority in November.

While Democrats pushed the law鈥檚 myriad benefits ahead of the March 31 deadline to sign up 鈥� 5 million Americans have signed up, short of a 7 million goal 鈥� others, like top Internet aggregator Matt Drudge, announced they had paid the first Obamacare tax 鈥� which he dubbed 鈥淟iberty Tax鈥� 鈥� for opting out of the law.

(The $95-per-adult penalty doesn鈥檛 take effect until next year, but small business owners like Drudge who send quarterly installments to the Treasury are technically on the hook now. That penalty fee ramps up considerably in following years.)

Given the Democrats鈥� truth-twisting in campaign tidbits like 鈥淚f you like your health insurance, you can keep your health insurance鈥� 鈥� in fact, lots of people were dropped from their health plans 鈥� the law will likely only become more irresistible to Republicans as unintended consequences pile up.

鈥淢illions of Americans have personally discovered that they can鈥檛 keep their coverage, can鈥檛 afford their premiums, can鈥檛 see their doctor, and can鈥檛 work as many hours,鈥� wrote Sen. John Barrasso (R) of Wyoming on Fox News.

Passed along partisan lines in 2010, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act makes it illegal for insurance companies to turn people away for preexisting conditions, allows parents to keep their kids on policies until age 26, and mandates that all American adults buy a healthcare policy or face an annual tax penalty. OK鈥檇 by the Supreme Court, the law, which primarily functions through government 鈥渉ealthcare exchanges,鈥� also subsidizes health care policies for low-income Americans.

After a disastrous roll-out in October, Obamacare has become the crux of the 2014 midterm elections. Unpopular among 53 percent of Americans, the law will be hard to defend in competitive districts, and could lead to a Republican takeover of the Senate.

For that reason, "it's safe to say that Democrats are going to want to ignore this anniversary," Mr. Priebus said on Friday. "The Senate is slipping away ... it seems like every day the math is expanding ... because of Obamacare, we know that Democrats are in disarray.鈥�

Indeed, a big problem for Democrats is that the math may not ultimately add up. So far, those who will primarily pay for the law鈥檚 subsidies 鈥� young, healthy people 鈥� have not yet signed up at the rates Washington was hoping for, suggesting that a large percentage of Obamacare enrollees are older Americans with health problems.

鈥淎lthough many households qualify for federal subsidies, many others find that the premiums in popular 鈥榮ilver鈥� plans aren鈥檛 cheap compared with the modest penalties for skipping coverage,鈥� the Monitor鈥檚 Mark Trumbull wrote this week.

Nevertheless, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, an 聽architect of the law, urged nervous Democrats to strongly defend the law. 鈥淚 believe that it鈥檚 a winner,鈥� she said.

Four years after its passage in Congress, Obamacare looms over America as a paradox: Despite making healthcare less of a worry and financial drain for millions of Americans, it also represents for many others a creeping, even sinister, intrusion of the federal government into the lives of Americans.

鈥淲hether the improving numbers [in Obamacare sign-ups] can be used to reshape the political climate as it relates to the health care law depends on whether Democrats on the ballot this year in competitive races have the courage to more forcefully rebut the Republican argument that the health care law is a disaster,鈥� writes John King, on CNN.

Meanwhile, the long-term problem for Republicans is that, despite its flaws and complexities, Obamacare provides real benefits that may improve its popularity as its benefits become more ubiquitous.

In New Hampshire this week, for instance, Herb Richardson, a Republican lawmaker, called Obamacare a 鈥渕onstrosity,鈥� but later acknowledged the law had been a 鈥渇inancial lifesaver鈥� for his family, CBS News reported.