It’s been a week since the US government shut down amid a GOP-engineered hissy fit in a move likely to go down as one of the worst planned political shenanigans in history.? Ostensibly, the reason behind the shutdown was that the Republicans wanted to try to defund the Affordable Care Act before October 1st?because it was not what the American people wanted. ?And, despite mountains of evidence to the contrary, the GOP leadership went to some very excessive lengths to prove their point.
Most Americans are still in the dark as to the details of the ACA, commonly referred to as ObamaCare, and Republicans have sought to play upon this lack of knowledge by replacing with fear and outright lies about the ACA.? However, once told what the law actually includes, a strong majority take a position to support the law.
Health Insurance Exchanges since October 1st have been flooded with applicants causing some websites to crash under the load. ?The Health Insurance Exchanges will bring down premiums for all Americans and the GOP knows that once this effect takes hold, the law will only become more popular and harder to defund, much less repeal.
While the Right has been busy railing against ObamaCare, it might help to actually take a look inside the law and find out what is gives people.? As a wise man once said, ?The best weapon against fear is knowledge.?? Let’s run through four real and verifiable reasons why the ACA, instead of being a dreadful law designed to take away our freedoms, is actually one of the most important pieces of legislation in recent history.
1)????? Obamacare bans insurance companies from denying pre-existing conditions
ObamaCare bans the practice of insurance companies denying coverage and claims on the basis of pre-existing conditions.? This will spell the end to medieval insurance company horror stories we have heard all too often.? Banning pre-existing conditions is among one of the ACA’s most popular statutes, with a full 83% of insured Americans supporting this measure.
2) ? ? ?Obamacare ?offers tax credits to small business which buy insurance
The ACA will expand tax credits to help small businesses provide health insurance for their employees.? A move supported by 88% of Americans polled the Kaiser Family Foundation, including a startling 83% of all Republican respondents, these tax breaks for Main Street are some of the most popular parts of ObamaCare.
3)????? Obamacare allows young people to stay on their parent’s healthcare plans
ObamaCare allows kids to stay on their parent’s insurance plans until the age of 26, expanding coverage for 3.4 million young Americans who would otherwise be left uninsured. ?Kaiser found that this provision was accepted by almost 75% of those polled, including two-thirds of Republicans asked.
4)????? Obamacare provides subsidies to help individuals afford coverage
While the ACA will lower premiums for most people, many low- and middle-income Americans will still feel health insurance is out of their reach.? ObamaCare actually provides for various types of subsidies for Americans earning up to $45,000 annually.? In the same KFF poll referenced above, 76% of all Americans and 61% of Republican respondents (that’s almost two in every three) agreed this was a great idea and supported the measure.
Just a moment here.? This law, this ACA?this ObamaCare thing is actually beginning to sound pretty good.? It might actually be a positive thing for the country.
The best part is that the Kaiser poll found that a majority of Republicans support at least parts of the ACA, taking the wind out of the arguments of the GOP leadership that the law is universally unpopular.? It’s hard to imagine anyone believing John Boehner or Ted Cruz trying to put fear into everyone about the ACA when a full 72% of Republicans polled by the foundation support the health insurance exchange program.
The best weapon against the fear of the GOP is indeed knowledge.
Edited and published by CB
