Obamacare is once again in grave danger

Former US President Barack Obama celebrates the passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and signing into law at the Department of the Interior in Washington on March 23, 2010. Reuters/Larry Downing/File

Are you better off than you were 14 years ago? If you are one of the millions of Americans who have a pre-existing condition and do not have a job with health benefits, the answer is, Yes,

Because Because formerly known as the Affordable Care Act (ACA) Obamacare (enacted on March 23, 2010, although many of its provisions did not go into effect until 2014), she would likely not have been able to obtain health insurance. This happens today, thanks to provisions of the law that prohibit insurers from discriminating on the basis of medical history and that subsidize many Americans’ insurance premiums. (These subsidies also provide incentives for healthy people to take out insurance, thereby improving the risk pool.)

And this President Biden strengthened the programSpecifically by expanding the provisions that eliminated the “cliff” that cut subsidies to many middle-class Americans.

But in the near future, you may lose that hard-earned access. In 2017, Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress Tried to gut the ACA and almost succeeded in passing a bill that the Congressional Budget Office said would leave the uninsured 22 million Americans More by 2026. There is every reason to believe that if the Republican Party (GOP) takes control of Congress and the White House in November, it will try again to bring back the bad times for health coverage. And he will likely succeed, as he failed in 2017 simply because of his stance on principles john mccainSomething unlikely in the current Republican Party, where Slavery obedience to Trump has become almost universal,

Before we get into politics, let’s talk about what Obamacare has accomplished.

Under Obamacare, the percentage of Americans without health insurance has nearly halved since 2010 (Getty/File)

During the Obama era, right-wing voices made many dire predictions about its effects. He claimed that this legislation would not actually expand coverage, it would be a financial disaster and a job killer.

None of these predictions came true. The percentage of Americans without health insurance has nearly halved since 2010. Federal spending on health programs, far from skyrocketing, has grown more slowly than expected. Already in 2010, the Budget Office expected that disbursements to the main essential health programs would reach 10% GDP growth in the mid-2030s and “will continue to grow thereafter”; Now it is expected that this figure will be less than this 7%, Regarding employment, the employment rate among working-age Americans is at its highest level in more than two decades.

And Obamacare, initially a political liability for Democrats, is now quite popular, In fact, the Republican effort to cut the law, which failed, likely played a major role in Democratic success in the 2018 midterm elections.

So why is this success story in serious danger?

First, it’s important to remember that in addition to his toxic attitude toward immigrants and his protectionist tendencies, Trump has shown that he neither knows nor cares much about the details of policy. Last week, he posted a comment about how The “invasion” of immigrants is the “killing of Social Security and Medicare.”Which is the opposite of the truth and shows that you have very little idea of ​​how even the largest and most important government programs work.

Former President of the United States Donald Trump. EFE/EPA/Michael Reynolds/Archive

While he was in office, Trump was in the hands of right-wing economic ideologues who really know how to write legislation that accomplishes their goals; Virtually his only major budget initiatives were tax cuts for the rich and corporations, which passed, and an attempt to dismantle Obamacare, which failed.

And what we do know is that, although Trump likes to present himself as a populist, right-wing economic ideology remains dominant among congressional Republicans, who are as eager as ever. Effectively dismantle Obamacare, Last week, the Republican Study Committee, which includes most House GOP members, released a budget proposal that includes many of the 2017 “fixes” that caused millions of Americans to lose their homes. (He also called for cuts to Social Security and Medicare.)

What I found surprising about the budget proposal was how its authors addressed the fact that none of the dire predictions made by the right wing about Obamacare have come true. The answer is that they simply pretend that the bad things they predicted did not happen. For example, I was struck by the claim that Obamacare “has accelerated the unsustainable growth in US health spending.” In fact, in 2010, total US health care spending was 17.2% Of GDP. By 2022 this figure will increase to 17.3% Of GDP.

US President Joe Biden speaks about protecting the Affordable Care Act (ACA) with Vice President Kamala Harris in Wilmington, Delaware, US, on November 10, 2020. Reuters/Jonathan Ernst/File

So the reality of Obamacare’s success won’t deter Republicans who want to dismantle it. In any case, The success of the law only increases their resolve to end itBecause it shows that, contrary to their ideology, Government can actually improve Americans’ lives,

And Trump will play along, he’ll throw eggs at them, because Improving the lives of Americans is not his primary goal.,

Ultimately, the right wing would like to destroy America’s entire security network. But they’ll probably start with Obamacare; If they are successful this year, I wouldn’t be surprised if the program ends by 2026.

Paul Krugman has been an opinion columnist since 2000 and a distinguished professor at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. He won the Nobel Prize in Economics in 2008 for his work on international trade and economic geography. @Paul Krugman

© The New York Times 2024

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