The original
reason why Congressional Republicans managed to shut-down the government was
because the President and the Democrats would not agree to de-fund or at least
change Obamacare (more properly known as the Patient Protection and Affordable
Care Act of 2010, or the ACA). In other words, the Republicans hate health care
reform so much that they are willing to do great harm to all Americans for
purely political reasons. You would think that healthcare reform was such a
horrible law that the Republicans are justified in this blackmail, but the
truth is that Obamacare is a very good law that reforms medical care in America
It might be said that the opposition to the ACA has been fueled and funded by
the health insurance industry, or that well-heeled Republicans object to the
higher taxes the law imposes on wealthy taxpayers. But that would not explain
the widespread fervor of grass-root right-wing Republicans against the law. I
suspect that Republican hostility to the ACA is rooted in class conflict.
Republicans despise poor people, even the working poor, and deeply resent the
fact that the ACA will make it possible for over 30 million people who
previously were unable to afford health insurance to now get coverage. Many
people fail to realize, however, that the ACA will benefit all Americans, not
just the poor. Here’s what would happen if it were repealed.
1. Repeal
of the ACA would mean that senior citizens would be denied relief from the
“doughnut hole.” Senior citizens who are beneficiaries of the Medicare Part D
drug program should be aware that the ACA has already begun to close the
“doughnut hole.” That is the period during which seniors have to pay the full
cost of their prescriptions. After seniors amass $2,970 in drug costs, Medicare
stops paying for drug expenses. That period lasts until seniors reach $4,750 in
prescription costs--a figure most seniors never reach in one year. Obamacare
will eventually abolish the doughnut hole and continue to pay for most drug
costs no matter how high they go. For many seniors who simply cannot afford to
buy their essential medications during the doughnut hole, that will be
life-saving. If the law is repealed, the doughnut hole will not be eliminated.
2. Repeal
of the ACA would add to $230 billion to the deficit. According to the
Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimate, the ACA reduces the deficit by $230
billion over the next decade. This is because the law not only provides for
government financial support of many reforms but also provides for higher taxes
on wealthy taxpayers in order to pay for the reforms. The taxes exceed
the amount needed to finance the law by $230 billion.
3. The ACA
creates an online Insurance Exchange that will enable purchasers to search for
the best and lowest-cost insurance. Repeal would mean no exchange. The Exchange
will offer low-cost insurance to uninsured people. Many people will be able to
get coverage for $50 per month or less.
4. Repealing the
ACA would mean higher health insurance premiums. The amount people actually pay
for premiums would be much higher after repeal because most people will be able
to get a subsidy from the government to help pay for the cost of health
insurance. People who currently have insurance and are struggling to pay the
premiums will be able to purchase health insurance on one of the exchanges
created by the law. The rates they will have to pay on the exchanges will be
dramatically lower than the rates they have to pay now.
5. Repeal would eliminate the provisions of
the bill that offer tax credits to about 4 million small-business men and women
to help them cover the cost of insurance for their employees.
6. Repeal
would mean that insurance companies would be able to go back to denying health
insurance because of preexisting conditions, annual caps, or lifetime caps on
health insurance coverage. Without the protection of the ACA, insurance
companies would be able to go on rescinding patients’ policies when the
patients file claims for benefits.
7. The ACA creates a long-term-care insurance program, financed by
voluntary payroll deductions, to provide benefits to adults who become
functionally disabled. Repeal would remove that program.
8. The ACA
requires that health plans allow young people up to age 26 to remain on their
parents’ insurance policies if their parents so choose. Repeal would mean no
such coverage for young people.
9. The ACA eliminates
co-payments for preventative services and exempts preventative services from
deductibles under the Medicare program. Repeal would mean return of such
co-payments and deductibles. There are many other provisions of the ACA that
will benefit everybody.
The real reason
Tea Party leaders in Congress oppose the law is that they are afraid that it
will succeed and that the American people will come to like it. They think that
it is part of a creeping socialism in this country that they want to halt. If they
could have their way, they would abolish Social Security, Medicare, and
Medicaid as well.
Republicans
argue that half of all Americans oppose the ACA, but that is really a
misleading statement. According to a recent CNN/ORC
International survey, only 38% really oppose the law. Although 57% of Americans say they
oppose the law, 11% say they oppose the measure because it isn't liberal
enough. Add that 11% to the 38% who say they favor the law and that means that
about half the public, 49%, either support the law or don't think it goes far
enough. Compare that to the 38% who are the ones who actually oppose the law.
