President Barack Obama signed the Affordable Care Act into law on March 23, 2010 eight years ago Friday. But this anniversary feels different from the ones that came before it.

In the past, Democrats have been preoccupied with implementing the law and fending off efforts to destroy it. That was especially true last year, when President Donald Trump and his Republican allies came within a single senators vote of passing repeal legislation.

Now the political environment is different. Republicans have not given up on repeal, but their assault on the law has made it more popular than ever . Meanwhile, the midterm elections are approaching. For the first time since 2010, Democrats could have governing majorities in one or even both houses of Congress and, two years after that, control of the White House as well.

The shift means that Democrats can focus more on the conversation they wanted, and were trying to have, all along. Its the conversation about how to fix the Affordable Care Acts shortcomings, in order to realize its ultimate goal of universal coverage.