The Affordable Care Act has come under fire from the Republican-held Senate once again, this time making it all the way to the president's desk. Friday, Obama vetoed a bill that would effectively dismantle Obamacare.
The House Ways and Means Committee reports that the GOP has tried to undercut Obamacare at least 60 times, a sentiment which Obama echoed in his veto notes, writing that Republicans are “refighting old political battles by once again voting to repeal basic protections that provide security for the middle class.”
Obamacare is riddled with pitfalls. People are confused by the website’s interface. The website's price estimates are based on yearly income predictions, which frequently resulted in unpredictable price increases. People are finding it difficult to apply, and even more difficult to stay on a plan. Often plans are shifted around, closed down and then reopened, leading to users having to choose a new plan each year. Despite this, Obamacare has still improved healthcare and quality of life for millions of Americans that were denied insurance and benefits through private health plans.
The GOP, and specifically Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, have insisted that they will replace Obamacare with a more affordable, higher-quality, patient-centered system. Popular presidential candidates from the GOP have openly expressed distrust of Obama’s system for healthcare while offering up some of their own solutions.
At its foundation, the program would remain the same. Those who have health coverage would remain covered, but Republicans insist that these people are being overcharged and underinsured. While many people are unable to afford care, most often specialty medications, it is preposterous to assume that insurance formularies do not reflect the needs of most patients.
Obamacare covers generic medications at low or no cost, medication that is specifically “generic” because so many people need the drug, and it is profitable for many drug companies to produce it. Even in cases where individuals need medication that is not on their plan’s formulary, often their doctor can negotiate a form of coverage with the healthcare provider. Instead of pushing for practical reforms to mend a mostly successful system, Republicans are pushing to denature current healthcare and replace it with a newer model. Except there doesn’t seem to be a benefit in tearing up the foundation to fix a few leaky pipes.
Republicans have not yet soured on the idea of government-run healthcare, and often claim that those who are insured will be able to keep their coverage under a newly constructed plan. However, every major GOP candidate has insisted that they will repeal Obamacare.
Several new plans that have been offered, such as those of Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio, are merely extensions of the original. They promote benefits such as offering tax credits, additional benefits to businesses, and increasing the minimum amount individuals can contribute to their health savings. Donald Trump has heavily criticized the rising premiums of Obamacare plans, but offers to replace it with a government-financed universal coverage, as he told 60 Minutes.
Painting his plan with such broad generalizations makes Trump’s healthcare plan identical to Obamacare, along with every other major industrialized nation’s program. All of the newly proposed ideas operate within the framework of an already operable system, with professionals and institutions in place to cater to those in need of insurance. And many, if not all, of the changes proposed by the Republican party can be implemented through the framework of plans that have already been established instead of replacing Obamacare with a more diluted, more expensive version of itself.
Repealing Obamacare would unnecessarily add $353 billion to the deficit, which is a hefty price for just replacing the name.
Despite the shortcomings of the Affordable Care Act, it has at least laid the foundation for a less expensive, more efficient means of healthcare. It has compiled a roster of people who need insurance and implemented various outlets, offices and professionals to help those people. To scrap the program entirely on account of pride is an egregious insult to the millions of Americans who have just started to understand their plan, benefits and find security and stability in their health coverage.