EDITORIAL: Pull health care out of its ‘death spiral’ | Editorial
"If we don't get it done," Trump told the New York Times, "we are going to watch Obamacare go down the tubes, and we'll blame the
This cynical scheme is breathtaking in its immorality. It plays political blackmail with the lives and financial security of virtually the entire American public.
Trump is deluding himself about who would get the blame. Polls show Americans disapproving by large and growing majorities of what the
For a senator, the only responsible vote this week is to refuse to begin floor debate on any version of McConnell's rapidly mutating monstrosity. Instead, the House-passed bill should be sent to a committee for thoughtful and bipartisan consideration. It is an issue that involves nearly 18 percent of the entire economy and potentially affects every citizen in one way or another.
Overall, most indicators show the health insurance industry to be in good and improving health. But there's work to be done.
Among other things, the ACA needs protection from the "death spiral" that Trump intends. The administration has pulled support that has helped many Americans shop for coverage on Obamacare's insurance exchanges. It keeps threatening to discontinue vital cost-sharing payments to insurers to subsidize copays and deductibles for low-income enrollees. It may refuse to enforce the requirement that people who can afford insurance must buy it or pay a tax and has stopped encouraging people to do so.
Without the mandate -- which was originally a Republican idea -- the entire system would become unaffordable.
The uncertainty over the law's future is probably more responsible than any other factor for those premiums that are rising faster than they should. Predictability is essential to any form of insurance.
Another problem that
(The "gold," top of the line plan that members must purchase on that exchange if they want taxpayer support is similar to those offered on exchanges elsewhere. The government's subsidy of 72 percent of premium cost compares to 71 percent that private employers offered on average in 2014, according to the
Nothing good can happen so long as
It's a tactic familiar to anyone who was threatened as a child, "The bogeyman will get you if you don't watch out." The
That attitude bears comparison, as
But in the House earlier this year,
"The question for every senator, Democrat or Republican, is whether they will side with Obamacare's architects, which have been so destructive to our country, or with its forgotten victims," Trump said. "Any senator who votes against starting debate is telling America that you are fine with the Obamacare nightmare, which is what it is."
There are explanations, but no good ones, why one of our two major parties is so committed to hurting so many people -- not just the 32 million who would lose coverage if the ACA is repealed (and not replaced), but the millions more who benefit from guaranteed insurability, portability, and an end to lifetime coverage limits.
Sheer spite is one of those reasons. Another is the burden of right wing special interests and the outside influence of hard-core conservatives in party primaries. Then there is the party's historic opposition to any new social program. McConnell's bill would gouge not just the Medicaid expansion that came with Obamacare, but also original Medicaid as it was enacted in 1965.
The American people deserve and expect better than this. They will be watching the
Editorials are the opinion of the SunSentinel Editorial Board and written by one of its members or a designee. The Editorial Board consists of Editorial Page Editor
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