How do you attack a law that’s already responsible for covering millions of Americans, providing more than a billion in rebates from insurance companies and is literally saving kids’ lives?
Republicans have two strategies: 1) make things up and 2) sabotage.
The most constant effort to sabotage comes from the House GOP who are continually pretending to repeal the law. This sows doubt that Republicans obviously hope will prevent people from signing up for the coverage they deserve. Meanwhile, they’re blocking efforts to properly promote the law.
In red states and blue states like Michigan that have cursed ourselves with Tea Party legislatures, the sabotage takes the form of not setting up our own health care exchanges and turning down Medicaid expansion that we’re going to pay for anyway.
This is going to leave millions of Americans who are poor who earn too much for Medicaid uninsured and reliant on emergency rooms for no good reason. But it won’t change the fact that where health care reform is being implemented properly it’s working fantastically.
This is true in California, Oregon and Washington.
And now we have the most stunning example: New York.
Tell the people, New York Times:
Individuals buying health insurance on their own will see their premiums tumble next year in New York State as changes under the federal health care law take effect, state officials are to announce on Wednesday.
State insurance regulators say they have approved rates for 2014 that are at least 50 percent lower on average than those currently available in New York. Beginning in October, individuals in New York City who now pay $1,000 a month or more for coverage will be able to shop for health insurance for as little as $308 monthly. With federal subsidies, the cost will be even lower.
The subsidies are the wild card in Obamacare that I think has the GOP most freaked out. An estimated 26 million Americans will get help paying for their health insurance and the vast majority likely have no idea that help is coming. Why? Because it isn’t going to just help poor people.
Do explain, CNN Money:
Most of those who will be able to claim the subsidies are in working families with annual earnings between $47,100 and $94,200, according to a recent analysis by Families USA, a consumer advocacy group. More than a third of those eligible will be young adults between ages 18 and 34.“There’s a huge number of people who can get coverage this way and can get significant help,” said Ron Pollack, executive director of Families USA. “It’s not just for the poor. It reaches deeply into the middle class.”
That’s right. Starting October 1, millions of middle class Americans are going to realize that the government is going to help them pay for their health insurance. And this is why you have to expect Republicans to go on the attack against this law and possibly even shut the government down over it in September. Because after October 1 there’s no going back.
Obamacare is, at its heart, a program that taxes the richest Americans to help the middle class and the working poor afford health care. It’s the greatest achievement for the middle class since Medicare and soon Americans will begin to figure this out.
And Republicans will do anything to prevent that from happening, even sabotage the health care of Americans with Republican state governments. But soon the examples of Obamacare working will be enough to disprove any lie.
[Photo credit: William Melton Jr. / SEIU]
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