I constantly ask
myself why there are those so many determined to deprive people of their health
insurance? For the 56th time,
the GOP dominated House voted to repeal the ACA (Obamacare) last week. It was a futile exercise because President
Obama still has the veto power. Do they just not care that insurance was
unaffordable for millions before the ACA or are there other reasons? I can
speculate on the answers.
Ideology plays a big role. I often hear expressed fear of
federal government taking over. Small government is always better. States’ rights should prevail. Private enterprise should always do it instead.
There are those who do not want any government to mandate them to do anything,
much less help anyone else to be able to afford health insurance.
The old status quo was tolerable, say some. Emergency rooms
are good enough care; preventative care is not that important. So what if
charity care and unpaid medical bills hike everyone else’s premiums. It is ok
those stuck with unaffordable medical bills lose their homes or go bankrupt.
Deficit hawks care
more than anything that the ACA will run up the deficit in the next ten years. At
least that is how Senate Republicans interpret a recent government report.
Prior year reports showed it would reduce the deficit. Next year could show
something different. Legislative tweaks
with payfor strategies and tackling entitlements are tougher to do.
However the reason for Obamacare in the first place was private
sector insurers had already failed to cover so many and states other than
Massachusetts were unwilling to provide a solution. So far the GOP
has failed to agree among themselves on a comparably effective replacement.
And then
there are partisan loyalists and Obama haters whose main motivation is to
cripple President Obama. There is a lawsuit now before the Supreme Court which
could rule that subsidies issued through the federal web site were illegal;
only subsidies could only be provided through state exchanges. The chief
plaintiff bringing the suit, David M. King, thinks the president is an “idiot” and has posted altered images
of the first lady in Middle Eastern clothing. A Court ruling against Obamacare would mean
80% of the 9 million beneficiaries of the ACA who receive those subsidies
through the federal exchanges would be unable to afford their health insurance
premiums. That the thirty five states
refusing to set up state exchanges would reverse themselves is slim since they
have state houses controlled by Republicans hostile to Obamacare.
Obamacare is
a failure? In spite of reparable computer glitches, the ACA is doing what it
was designed to do even part of the way to full implementation. By the end of 2016, 24 million fewer Americans
will lack insurance, per the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. Independent factcheck.org concluded premiums
for employed and individuals have risen at a much lower rate than in the Bush
years even accounting for the recession’s effect, nor will the ACA cost
thousands for everyone insured. Fewer adults reported medical bill problems. Destroying
Obamacare would reverse those gains.
A version of this was published in the www.skyhidailynews.com
A version of this was published in the www.skyhidailynews.com
Sources
tapped for the posting:
http://consumer.healthday.com/public-health-information-30/medicaid-news-421/survey-more-americans-getting-needed-health-care-695531.html
More:
http://www.politico.com/story/2015/03/supreme-court-obamacare-white-house-115631.html
More:
http://www.politico.com/story/2015/03/supreme-court-obamacare-white-house-115631.html
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