LARRY ELDER: Obamacare Was, Is And Will Always Be A Problem
President Barack Obama signed The Affordable Care Act, aka Obamacare, in 2010 without a single Republican vote in the House or the Senate. When Obama announced it to the nation, Vice President Joe Biden could be heard…
President Barack Obama signed The Affordable Care Act, aka Obamacare, in 2010 without a single Republican vote in the House or the Senate. When Obama announced it to the nation, Vice President Joe Biden could be heard on a hot mic telling Obama, “This is a big f—ng deal.”
It was no exaggeration, particularly given that most Americans opposed it. The liberal Brookings Institution think tank recently wrote: “The ACA was conceived in unpopularity. In October 2010, the month before the midterm elections, only 42% of Americans had a favorable view of the ACA. Republicans hated it — only 11% held a positive view — and independents didn’t like it, either (only 34% were favorable toward the ACA). Even among Democrats, approval stood at just 69%, down nine points from six months earlier.”
Democrats gambled two things would eventually happen.
First, Democrat politicians expected those without health care insurance, pre-Obamacare, to become a large, loud and sympathetic special interest voting group.
Second, when Obamacare failed to fulfill its ridiculous free lunch promises — bend the cost curve; save the average family $2,500 a year in premiums; allow people to keep their doctor and their health care plan; reduce the deficit; improve quality; reduce visits to emergency rooms; provide greater accessibility to providers; etc. — Democrats would be ready with a “solution.” Whether they call it “single payer,” “the public option” or “Medicare for all,” the federal government (taxpayers) should pay.
Democrats knew few politicians would dare describe health care as a commodity like a car, a computer or a flat-screen TV. They bet few Republicans would say, “If the goal is accessibility, at the cheapest cost with the best incentives for innovation, this requires more competition and less government interference.”
Brookings writes, “By March 2023, 62% of Americans had a favorable view of Obamacare. … Democrats are now nearly unanimous (94%) in viewing (the Affordable Care Act) positively, along with 64% of independents. … (A)pproval among Americans who identify as Republicans now stands at 36% — five times more support than the ACA enjoyed with the party’s loyalists in 2012.”