Yet again, there is great excitement and breathless reporting in the press about rising premiums of the Affordable Care Act.
I am used to Republicans attempting to exploit any negative news about the ACA as an opportunity to tout their plan of providing healthcare to tens of millions of Americans through health savings accounts (laugh track here), but I have to say that I become incensed when I turn on my teevee and see individuals celebrated as being on the Left not only jeering the plan, which Republicans are currently running against, but taking a swipe at the President who signed it into law.
Last night on the MSNBC’s program All In with Chris Hayes, the host and his guest, perennial Obama detractor Michael Moore, were quick to criticize Barack Obama by somehow implying that FDR would have done a better job in passing the ACA. They then proceeded to deride the ACA plan structure.
Chris Hayes: There are still problems with this law.
Michael Moore: Yeah, because we didn’t go all the way. FDR didn’t do half of Social Security, he went all the way. You have to go all the way.
Michael Moore, I get it, I’ve seen your jeering proclamations about the President and the ACA for years, despite the law’s enabling of at least 20 million people to receive care through its health exchanges, and its securing of care for more than a hundred million individuals with pre-existing conditions. There is also this:
Even as the Affordable Care Act remains a political flash point, new research shows it is dramatically improving poor patients’ access to medical care in states that have used the law to expand their Medicaid safety net.
After just two years of expanded coverage, patients in expansion states are going to the doctor more frequently and having less trouble paying for it.
At the same time, the experience in those states suggests better access will ultimately improve patients’ health, as patients get more regular checkups and seek care for chronic illnesses such diabetes and heart disease.
Bold emphasis by diarist.
I get it. In your mind, and the minds of many who agree with you, the President “failed”. Still, arguing a point based upon a personal abstraction is far more acceptable than actually misstating historical fact. In your argument of comparison, it is simply not true to claim that FDR “went all the way” in his passing of Social Security.
No, Social Security was hardly ideal when it was first passed in 1935. In fact, it took decades of amending and tweaking of the law to get it to its current state. FDR himself made it clear upon the passage of Social Security that his own legislation was incomplete:
Even as the Social Security legislation moved through the Congress in the late winter and spring of 1935, it was acknowledged by many supporters that the old-age program then under consideration was but a first step in providing comprehensive protection for American workers against loss of earnings. President Roosevelt, in signing the Social Security Bill into law noted that "This law, too, represents a cornerstone in a structure which is being built but is by no means complete."
Yes, Michael, FDR himself stated his disagreement with you, and the following was just one of many reasons why the plan would have to be improved. Social Security had problems too:
When Congress created social security in 1935, it provided a safety net for millions of workers, guaranteeing them an income after retirement. However, the act's provisions excluded agricultural workers and domestic servants, who were predominantly African American, Mexican, and Asian. As low-income workers, minorities had the least opportunity to save, were least likely to have pensions, and were most vulnerable to economic recession, yet they were systematically excluded from the protection and benefits granted to most Americans.
What was that again, Michael?
The impending death of the ACA has been trumpeted by the law’s detractors for years. In its zeal to declare the potential death of the law, the media, as was evidenced by Chris Hayes’ program last night, avoids reporting the full story as it relates to the current news of increased premiums.
The cost of health insurance under the Affordable Care Act is expected to rise an average of 22 percent in 2017, according to information released by the Obama administration Monday afternoon.
Still, federal subsidies will also rise, meaning that few people are likely to have to pay the full cost after the rate increases to get insurance coverage.
"We think they will ultimately be surprised by the affordability of the premiums, because the tax credits track with the increases in premiums," said Kevin Griffis, assistant secretary for public affairs at the Department of Health and Human Services.
snip
While the average premiums on the benchmark health plans are increasing, the government says more than 70 percent of people buying insurance on the marketplaces created by the law could get a health plan for less than $75 a month for 2017. To get the best deal, people would have to pick a low-cost plan with limited benefits and take advantage of all the subsidies available.
Yes, the law is imperfect, but this has never been a disqualifier for legislation crafted through the American political system. Every single piece of legislation passed through history has been imperfect. Yet, this is somehow used as a disqualifier as it relates to this President and what he has achieved in passing the Affordable Care Act.
True, Chris Hayes, there are still problems with the law, but considering how many millions of people the ACA has helped, the problem today is a sabotaging Republican congress which refuses to work in good faith in order to improve the legislation as FDR was able to do with Social Security, instead of working to limit access by refusing to expand Medicaid, and expending tremendous energy and effort to undermine the law in an insane racist commitment to undermine the President.
Yes, Messrs. Moore and Hayes, FDR’s legislation had problems too. Thankfully, however, he faced nothing close to the kind of brazen wanton sabotage that this current President has had to face.
Your claims I’m sure will differ.