The Good Side of Obamacare?
Fear is the mind-killer.
-- Frank Herbert, Dune
I have always had a soft spot for Obamacare. Yes, it is a giveaway to the insurance industry, yes it is too expensive and yes it doesn't cover everybody, but it did something very important.
It made 10 million people less afraid of dying in pain.
Of all the things that Obama could have done in his first term, this is what he chose, and I have to say it was tactically brilliant. Why? Because stress makes people stupid and apathetic. By greatly reducing the biggest cause of stress in the lives of a large number of people, this half-assed program gave them a chance to stand up and look around.
And they didn't like what they saw.
Ironically, I think this is part of why this election is so different. The Establishment Dems did something that was calculated to improve their chances at the ballot box and it succeeded beyond their wildest dreams - and not in the manner that they intended. Once the uninsured got a moment to breath, they got into politics. On one side, you have all the supporters of the Orange Haired One who got up on their hind legs and tore the GOP apart. On the other side, you had the rise of Bernie - which was not part of the plan - who is close to doing the same thing to the Democratic party.
Imagine what we could do it we got rid of even more fear. Health care for everyone, a decent wage for everyone, an education for everyone. At that point, the only fear left would be that of the oligarchs.
Comments
Not for all, of course
The first couple of years, yes, it was better for me. Insurance was about $25 a month. But I live in Texas ("We don't want no stinkin' Medicaid! We want people to go to emergency rooms and pay for it OURSELVES!!") and now I earn too little for the tax credit, so my premiums are now over $400 a month. Someone like to explain the logic of that to me?
I can explain it in two words: John Roberts...
...when he allowed states, via his majority opinion in National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius, to opt out of the Medicaid expansion, he threw people like you out into the cold. You are the human sacrifice to the Gods of Commerce and Plutocracy...
I want my two dollars!
I've sid this before.
When I turned thirty (in 1987) I decided that it was stupid to have no savings. So I decided to start saving. In 1997 I bought a condo. In 2001 I had $15 in my checking account and $30k in my IRA. In 2014 my health failed and I had to retire - with $360K in the bank. And though you're probably thinking that I'm bragging I never made $50k.
I did the calculations. If Obamacare had been in effect in 1987 I never would have saved enough to buy that condo. In 2001 I probably would have been homeless. (I would probably have died of exposure in 2003 or so) My health would have failed earlier, and I would have been unable to retire - or premiums and deductibles and copays for the 13 drugs I need. Unmedicated my blood pressure is 250/150. I would be dead today if Obamacare had gone in before I retired.
It may be that my story is uncommon; that the number of people helped by Obamacare is far greater than the number killed, but what about more marginal cases? How many people will have to delay retirement? Home ownership? Work 2 jobs 52 weeks a year just to afford insurance? Be unemployed because someone else has to work 2 jobs? How many marriages will fail because of the strain? We will never know - can never tell.
How many bad laws will be passed because of politicians taking bribes from insurance companies using money they got from Obamacare? How many good candidates will lose because they were outspent by insurance companie money?
Obamacare has done a lot of good, that is true, but it is a trade, and almost certainly a bad one.
On to Biden since 1973
Thanks for your story
I don't know either, but I know the pre-existing condition part was important for a number of people I know. I'm not trying to say it was the right way to do this (it clearly isn't) but it did have some positive benefits for a lot of people (at least the ones who bought into the program).
The mere fact that some people found it worth paying for suggests that it did some good, and my point here is not to cheerlead it but rather to suggest that progressive programs that reduce fear may have a snowball effect through increased political engagement. The more real programs we get, the faster things can improve, but we also need to be ready to blow on the flames of lame one like the ACA.
We can’t save the world by playing by the rules, because the rules have to be changed.
- Greta Thunberg