We're going to lose the Affordable Health Care Act.
Yes, this is just one of many things that will be lost under a 6-3 far-right court. The most discussed is the reversal of Roe v. Wade, which I have addressed in other blog posts. Suffice to say here that I believe the elimination of Roe v. Wade will NOT accomplish what either side thinks it will, and the result will be a RISING number of abortions in this country.
But the Affordable Care Act? You can kiss that goodbye. And the effect will be devastating, especially in a pandemic.
This is ironic* at a time when the Act is growing increasingly popular. The Republicans initially insisted on calling it Obamacare. What started out as derision is now a badge of honor.
Why do Republicans insist on this act of political suicide? They're not flexible enough to change, especially operating under a racist President who despises everything the black President did and wants to erase all his achievements from history.
Insurance companies could no longer discriminate based on pre-conditions. You could keep your children on your insurance until they were 26. People who couldn't rely on employer-based insurance had access to an insurance market, and it was subsidized based on income. It opened up more to qualify for Medicare. That's just a few of its benefits.
Yes, Obamacare has its flaws. So what? All legislation does. The President and his supporters thought that over time, like Social Security and Medicare and other programs, Obamacare would be corrected and improved in subsequent years.
That didn't happen. That's because we had a Republican party that had decided it was more important to tear down Democratic achievements than solve problems either on their own or in conjunction with Democrats. Having no solution was better than having a Democratic solution.
Usually, when legislation like this passes, that benefits so many, it gets accepted as a standard part of life, and it becomes tough to remove. And Obamacare was well on its way to doing this. That is why there is going to be a huge political cost to Republicans for removing it. It is why Supreme Court Justice John Roberts switched sides in the last Obamacare health care case and put a stop to its wanton destruction. With the addition of Amy "Aunt Lydia" Barrett, he won't be able to check the far-right justices' worst instincts.
Some things could have passed with the original Affordable Health Care Act that would have made it be accepted faster and thereby harder to remove. The most significant of these would have been a public option, allowing people to buy into a government plan in state marketplaces. Instead of a squirming and squallering private insurer, you could have a competitive public plan to choose from. Another that almost passed was making an option where people 55 and older could buy into Medicare. Joe Lieberman single-handedly stopped that, even though that proposal was part of his 2004 Presidential-run platform. People like Joe Lieberman and Joe Manchin are why we can't have nice things, even when Democrats control things.
Speaking of controlling things, when the election is over, and we have Biden as President, and a Senate Democratic majority, they will need to repair what they can of the Affordable Care Act. They will have to vote through something that addresses whatever challenges the Supreme Court leaves in the wake of its destruction of the Act. My fondest wish is that they just chuck it and go to Medicare For All (universal health care, single-payer - I don't care what you call it as long as it happens). Failing that, you absolutely have to have a public option and/or greater buy-in capacity to Medicare. A redo will be worthless without that.
Unfortunately, we couldn't get a public option or Medicare buy-in when the Democrats had a 60-vote technically veto-proof majority. My most optimistic predictions would be for a Democratic caucus of about 54. Sadly, Joe Manchin and a handful of conservative/corporate Democrats will have more power than ever. We also will have a President who has stated that he opposes Medicare For All.
So, if we don't want to leave millions without health insurance, if we don't want to see millions excluded from coverage for pre-existing conditions (I'm sorry, Sir, your heart condition was caused by your bout with COVID, so, too bad so sad - here's your bill for $350,000 to cover your heart attack), if you don't want to see uncontrolled insurance costs skyrocket**, then it will be up to us to organize and protest as loudly as we can. We need to let wavering Democrats know that our support for them depends on their willingness to restore our right to decent, affordable health care.
This is only one of the things we will lose when Aunt Lydia steps onto the Supreme Court. It's a biggie, though.
Millions will lose health care. Hundreds of thousands will go bankrupt or be forced to its edge. Tens of thousands will die.
As Biden told Obama when the passing of the Affordable Care Act was announced, "This is a big f--ing deal."
This time, however, it won't be in a good way.
*am I using ironic in the right way? I don't know. Language and its use change all the time. Deal.
**think Trump's political ploy of an executive order about pre-existing conditions means anything at all? No, it's unenforceable trash. Even if private insurers cover pre-existing conditions, it will be without limits on how much they can charge. "You have diabetes, Sir? Sure we'll cover it! That'll be an extra 40 Grand a year, please."
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