Former President Obama decided to voice his frustration at attempts by members of Congress to repeal his flawed health care law, noting that it’s “aggravating” to see our leaders try to inflict human pain on the population. He was speaking at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s Goalkeepers event. The purpose of Goalkeepers is to accelerate world progress and highlighting figures that are joining the movement to spur global change.
While he didn’t specifically name the political party or persons involved with repealing his health care overhaul that he says saved lives and ensured that 90 percent of Americans have health insurance, it’s obvious he was referring to Republicans (via Free Beacon):
"Now, the legislation that we passed was full of things that still need to be fixed. It wasn't perfect, but it was better," Obama said. "So when I see people trying to undo that hard-won progress for the 50th or 60th time, with bills that would raise costs or reduce coverage or roll back protections … It is aggravating. And all of this being done without any demonstrable economic or actuarial or plain common-sense rationale, it frustrates."
Also, it’s not like the vast majority of Americans were without health insurance prior to Obamacare; around 80 percent of Americans were insured prior to the passage of 2010 law. Second, I know the Left harps on the number of people insured. That’s fine, though Obamacare’s main selling point was that it would reduce costs. It has not done that, as the middle class cannot afford it (via CNN Money):
Stacey and Eddie Albert lead pretty healthy lives. She's a nutritionist. He's a personal trainer. They rarely go to the doctor, other than their annual physicals.
For years, they were covered by Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey. In 2013, they paid about $360 a month for a plan that met their needs.
That all changed the following year, when Obamacare took effect. Their premium shot up to around $650 a month for a policy that came with pediatric dental coverage and maternity services -- benefits they didn't use or want since they don't have kids. They ended up dropping the plan after several months and even went a year without coverage for the first time in the decade they've been together, exactly the opposite of what Obamacare was supposed to do.
The Neptune, New Jersey, couple recently re-enrolled in a policy that costs about $700 a month. They feel it's too much of a gamble to be uninsured, but wish they could go back to their pre-Obamacare plan.
[…]
"They made the Affordable Care Act so ridiculously overbuilt that it's killing people like me who pay for it," said Tom Buxton, 59, of Littleton, Colorado. "I don't need two doctor visits a year unless I want them. That should be my choice. I didn't go to the doctor for five years."
A self-employed business consultant, Buxton used to pay $666 a month for a policy for him and his wife, Jennifer. Each had to pay a $3,000 deductible before coverage kicked in. They paid out-of-pocket for the few medical issues they had.
After Obamacare began, their insurer, Golden Rule, offered them a plan for $1,200 a month with a $6,500 deductible each.
[…]
For Greg Silvestro, the policy he had prior to Obamacare and the one he found on the Florida exchange for 2017 were pretty similar -- both have deductibles of about $7,000 and wouldn't be used much.
But there was one big difference: The Obamacare policy costs $338 a month, more than three times as much as his old plan.
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Yeah, a $6-7,000 deductible is not health insurance; that’s insurance in name only. Premiums are set to spike again, which was projected last year—though I’m sure the Left is trying to blame the uncertainty in Washington and the Trump administration to explain the hike. Yet, the market place was already on the verge of collapse, and despite liberal assurances of stability—the Obamacare market is in a death spiral. Guy has been prolific is covering this law’s pitfalls. Right now, there’s a last minute blitz by congressional Republicans to pass the Graham-Cassidy bill, but time is running out. Nevertheless, both Speaker Ryan and the Trump a White House have said they’re all in on this effort. Ryan made a pledge that if the Senate passes it, it would pass the House. The GOP has until September 30 to pass such a bill under the reconciliation rules. Here’s the rundown:
It would repeal the individual and employer mandates of the Affordable Care Act, impose per capita caps on Medicaid, increase contributions to health-savings accounts, allow states to waive regulations on private insurance providers, and provide those states with block grants so they can design their own health-care systems. If the bill became law, it would therefore be a genuine federalist triumph. A large portion of the federal money now set to fund the Medicaid expansion and subsidies of the Affordable Care Act would be instead distributed to individual states. Each state would have the freedom and means to develop its own health-care system. Reasonable people disagree over how best to design a health-care system, and under Graham-Cassidy, their ideas could be tested without causing a nationwide catastrophe and the disruption of a vital service.
Also, and I’ll leave with this point, what about the economic pain and misery Bernie Sanders and his Trotskyite minions intend to inflict on all of us with their $32 trillion single-payer nonsense. Taxes go up for everyone. Access to specialized care, medicines, and doctors are rationed. Wouldn’t that also cause immense pain to the population? I think it will and the fact that they don’t want to talk about cost is a clue that they know this is bad public policy but everyone can suffer equally, so that’s liberalism for you.
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