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| Angelika/Mike Schilli |
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12/2016
Angelika One of the greatest achievements of the Obama administration might not survive the Trump presidency. The Affordable Care Act or Obamacare, which has provided health insurance for millions of Americans, is in a precarious position. This is not just due to Trump, but mainly because the Senate and House of Representatives now have a Republican majority. Republicans have been opposed to Obamacare since it was enacted and have continuously proposed measures to repeal it. The plan is to repeal Obamacare on the first day of Trump's term in office.
However, since there are currently about 20 million people covered under Obamacare, you cannot simply declare Obamacare invalid without presenting an alternative. The absurd idea that is constantly being brought up is to repeal Obamacare but allow it to continue running until a new law is passed, which could take several years. Experts, however, fear that the system will then collapse as insurance companies become uncertain about their future and thus stop offering plans under Obamacare."
It is true that Obamacare needs improvement. Premiums are rising year after year, mainly because not enough young healthy people are signing up for insurance and would rather pay the penalty for being uninsured than get covered. A universal healthcare plan remains affordable only if young healthy individuals sign up for it, and the money is redistributed based on the solidarity principle. However, Republicans and Trump do not seem to agree on what a good alternative to Obamacare would be. They do know, though, that they want to get rid of the mandate that requires every American to have health insurance. The also demand that penalties for being uninsured should no longer be imposed.
Opponents of Obamacare also demand that subsidies that allow low-income people to pay for Obamacare policies should no longer exist. On the other hand, Trump has announced that one of the best achievements of Obamacare will not be cut off, namely that insurers cannot deny coverage to patients with so-called "preexisting conditions." That way, even if you have a pre-existing condition, you can still find an insurance. This passage in the law is very popular among the population. But actually, the principle of insuring everyone, regardless of pre-existing conditions, only works if there is also a mandate for all to be insured, so that the healthy carry the sick. This wisdom, however, does not seem to have reached all politicians in Washington yet. There is still hope, though. The Democratic Party will fight for Obamacare in the Senate, and there, the Republicans only have a very narrow majority. Since Obamacare is a law passed by Congress, a simple majority would not be enough to fully repeal Obamacare.
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