America’s health-care system had a great number of flaws, many of them caused or worsened by misguided government policies, before Barack Obama set out to overhaul it. Obamacare took the system further in a wrong direction.

In the years after that law was enacted, conservatives made its repeal and replacement a priority. That decision made good sense, as there was, in theory, a chance to undo it before it was implemented or became entrenched and it was a powerfully motivating issue for millions of people.

In today’s Washington Post column, I argue that the situation has changed in ways that should lead conservatives to change their approach. Many of Obamacare’s worst features have been eliminated since then, and what remains has been absorbed into the larger system.

There’s still a lot that conservatives should want to change in health-care policy, but focusing on the parts of the health-care system that involve Obamacare will not help us identify the most pressing problems and promising solutions. And discussing the health policies we want in terms of repealing Obamacare won’t help us achieve them.