It’s a staple of the Democratic Party to demagogue the issue of healthcare to frighten Americans so they’ll vote Democratic. They have used this deceitful practice successfully in the past and you can be sure they will do so again. Former President Trump just gave them the opening they needed.
The Wall Street Journal editorial board says, “Donald Trump handed his opponents another gift over the weekend by vowing to “terminate” ObamaCare—or at least that’s how Democrats are translating his blunderbuss comments. Democrats are distorting the issue as ever, but they know Mr. Trump has no plan of his own.”
“The cost of Obamacare is out of control, plus, it’s not good Healthcare,” Mr. Trump wrote Saturday on Truth Social. “I’m seriously looking at alternatives. We had a couple of Republican Senators who campaigned for 6 years against it, and then raised their hands not to terminate it. It was a low point for the Republican Party, but we should never give up!”
There is a lot of truth in what Trump said, but as usual, he said it in an undisciplined, off-the-cuff manner that gives his opponents lots of room for criticism, if unjust. It seems that Trump was responding to an earlier editorial by WSJ concerning complaints about ObamaCare from Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, of all people! (see Senator Warren’s ObamaCare Epiphany)
Warren has finally grasped that ObamaCare is not producing cost-effective quality healthcare as promised. Here is what the editors said: “It took 13 years, but Elizabeth Warren is at long last acknowledging that ObamaCare has increased healthcare prices and industry consolidation. Who would have believed it? Government price controls and profit caps have resulted in unintended consequences.”
Democrats seized on his post, warning that 40 million Americans could lose health coverage if Mr. Trump wins again. In 2024 “the Affordable Care Act and all its transformational benefits will be on the ballot,” Nancy Pelosi declared. “The American people will need to know that if Donald Trump wins next year, he’s coming for your health care.”
On Tuesday President Biden told donors that “if Trump gets his way, it’s all gone.” Democrats successfully ran on protecting ObamaCare in 2018 and 2020, and they are trying to make it a three-peat. Bidenomics isn’t selling with voters, so why not run on the tried-and-true strategy of scare-mongering about losing health coverage?
Recall that Republicans failed to repeal and replace ObamaCare in 2017 despite controlling both houses of Congress. John McCain’s opposition ultimately killed the GOP’s last reform bill, but Mr. Trump’s unwillingness to understand the policy arguments was the bigger problem. His inability to marshal a case to rally public opinion contributed to its failure and the GOP’s losses in the midterms.
Democrats are again making false claims about ObamaCare that Mr. Trump and Republicans seem incapable of refuting. Mr. Trump later attempted to clarify that he merely wants to “replace” ObamaCare with “MUCH BETTER HEALTHCARE,” though he again missed the mark by suggesting that other countries’ socialized health systems are superior to America’s private care – they are not!
The share of Americans with insurance increased by about five percentage-points in the six years after the law’s Medicaid expansion and health exchanges took effect. This resulted in about 17 million Americans gaining health coverage. But most newly insured are young, healthy adults on Medicaid. They could have afforded “skinny” plans (limited benefit plans outside ObamaCare) more appropriate for their age and health risks, but the Biden Administration is restricting those plans.
There are many good Republican ideas to improve our healthcare, but what is needed is someone who can better promote those plans than Trump.
