Shocking news: The Affordable Care Act, more commonly called Obamacare, appears to be in serious trouble. Surprise, surprise. Its opponents — thousands of them in the political ring and in the medical and insurance field, and many others — expressed serious doubts about the program long before it went into effect in 2014.

Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton was the latest to go on record as calling for drastic changes, saying the program is in a state of emergency in his home state. He sums it up quite simply: It’s no longer affordable.

Lots of folks are listening to him, because the Democrat has always been one of the program’s staunchest supporters. Now that his state has worked under Obamacare for only a couple of years, he’s changed his opinion.

Former President Bill Clinton is quoted as calling it “the craziest thing in the world,’’ although he later softened his criticism somewhat in an effort to avoid stepping on wife Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign.

Tennessee and Illinois are two more states where Obamacare is in serious jeopardy. Insurers are leaving the program left and right, already predicting they are going to face huge financial deficits.

Here in Maine small businesses are already warning their employees that they’re scrambling to come up with a health care plan that will best meet their needs, but they should brace themselves for substantial increases in their own share. What sizable increases may mean to many small businesses is a reduction in staff and hesitation to expand in the months to come.

Obamacare promised to be a godsend to millions of Americans without healthcare. A lot of low income folks have signed on, no doubt about it, and have health care for the first time. Where did the money come from to make it possible for them to buy affordable insurance? From the rest of the ratepayers. The average working man and woman has experienced much higher premiums and most feel it’s just the beginning. Promises of an affordable health care plan and one which would insure they could keep their own doctor, among other things, have failed to materialize.

The next person to occupy the White House will have a major challenge in trying to reverse the damage that has been done, and in coming up with a health care plan acceptable to the average  American — not just the lower income bracket or the very rich, but the millions caught in the middle.