How could these people be so happy to have health insurance?
Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY), the
guy who wants President Obama to stop talking about the good stuff that has come with Obamacare has another "Shut up!!! Shut up!!!!" moment following Monday's
announcement that the uninsured rate has dropped by 35 percent since the law was enacted, and 16.4 million people have gained insurance through the law. Nonsense,
says Barrasso.
Senator John Barrasso of Wyoming, the chairman of the Senate Republican Policy Committee, said: "Millions of people have lost coverage they liked, and out-of-pocket costs continue to rise. Coverage does not equal care."
Moreover, he said, the addition of people to the Medicaid rolls is "hardly worth celebrating."
"And argle bargle!" Actually, new data from the Urban Institute
shows that not so many people actually did lose coverage they liked. No, it was millions, it was 400,000 or about 2.2 percent of Americans. That coverage that was "lost," by the way, really wasn't equal to care. The plans that were cancelled didn't include the
ten essential health services required by the law (you know, frivolous things like chronic disease management and prescriptions and preventive care).
Millions didn't lose their coverage, but you won't be able to tell Barrasso or any other Republican that, just as you won't be able to convince them that, yes, Medicaid coverage is better than none at all. Because, for Republicans, it's an article of faith that it's just better for people to be uninsured than to be insured by this law that they irrationally hate.