Bill Clinton instituted Don't Ask/Don't Tell in the 90s as a means of protecting homosexuals in the military. DADT basically meant that the military couldn't conduct investigations into a person's sexuality. They were allowed to prohibit homosexuality, but they could only act against a service member who openly indicated their homosexual preference.

DADT was horseshit from day one. The only redeeming characteristic of the policy was decriminalization of gays in the military. They could still be thrown out, but the policy quickly put an end to court martial and imprisonment of gay soldiers.

DADT was a compromise, a transitory policy that never should have been needed. It needed to be retired as soon as it was enacted, and it took decades to actually accomplish.

Obama's ACA is in a very similar position. It was horseshit from day one. It was a program designed and promoted by the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, as opposition to various Universal Healthcare plans. It was designed from the outset to prop up the health insurance industry that desperately needed to be gutted.

It may have been the best that Obama could have achieved at the time, but it was disgustingly terrible, and the whole thing needs to be replaced with something that actually works.