ObamaCare is the best thing to happen to the middle class since Medicare — of course, the GOP wants to destroy it
Republicans have fallen in love with repeating the warning from Senator Max Baucus (D-MT) that ObamaCare could be a “train wreck.” This has given them confidence to resume to their favorite pastime: pretending to repeal ObamaCare.
It also gives them the ability to distract from the reality, the real-life, life-mangling, slow-motion disaster that occurs every day in America.
The real “train wreck” is that America has the most expensive health care system in the world yet more than 45 million are uninsured and 26,000 to 45,000 Americans die every year for lack of insurance.
The real “train wreck” is that we already pay for each other’s health care — in the dumbest possible way.
The real “train wreck” is that up until ObamaCare began, insurance companies could manufacture excuses to drop you when you became sick, they capped the total amount of coverage that you could receive, they denied kids with pre-existing conditions coverage, they didn’t pay for preventative care that would end up saving them money, they didn’t have to justify how much money they spend on actual medical coverage, they could raise rates whenever and however they wanted.
The real “train wreck” is that until ObamaCare goes into effect, insurance companies can still deny adults coverage based on pre-existing conditions.
The real “train wreck” is that Republicans are denying working families insurance coverage they deserve — coverage that would lower their entire states’ rates [[ even though their residents will still be charged for it anyway.
The real “train wreck” is the that the GOP is sabotaging the closest thing America has ever had to a universal health care system and they have no alternative.
They present no alternative because the few solutions they believe in — interstate markets, health care savings accounts, high-deductible plans — would end up lowering the overall quality of care while doing little to help the most vulnerable. They present no real plan because they know when the public sees their vision — as they did with the Ryan Budget — they’ll reject it. They present no real alternative because ObamaCare has taken the best free-market ideas that have made Massachusetts one of the healthiest states in the union and applies them nationally.
The truth is:
1. ObamaCare is already covering millions of Americans and offering millions more free preventative care.
2. Since ObamaCare has passed health care costs have slowed.
3. Implementing ObamaCare will be a challenge — ESPECIALLY BECAUSE REPUBLICANS ARE TRYING TO SABOTAGE IT. But signing up for it will be simpler than signing up for your private insurer.
4. Nearly every problem Republicans point out in ObamaCare — a lack of cost controls, a lack of available plans in some markets, etc. — could be fixed with one thing: A public option.
The GOP is on the offensive, aggressively trying to destroy the program they know could save tens of thousands of American lives and create millions of Democratic voters. We should be on the offense, too.
Whenever the right criticizes ObamaCare, remember the solution: A strong public option.
Because letting Americans suffer and die unnecessarily is the real train wreck.
