Trump’s Revolutionary Proposal to Clean Up Obamacare Mess
REALCLEARHEALTH
The Democrats’ pointless government shutdown at least put Obamacare atop the national agenda again—proof that even high wire acts of congressional lunacy can deliver golden opportunities for reform. Not missing a beat, President Trump offered a revolutionary patient-centered proposal to resolve Obamacare’s multiple deficiencies.
It cannot come soon enough. The Affordable Care Act is unaffordable, evidenced by skyrocketing premium costs, crazy deductibles, and explosive taxpayer obligations to cover rising program costs. The return on the Obamacare investment has been in a tailspin: declining personal choice, reduced health plan competition, and growing restrictions on patient access to preferred physicians, specialists, hospitals and other medical facilities. Last year, for example, 80 percent of Obamacare plans had restrictive networks.
When President Obama signed the Affordable Care Act into law 15 years ago, he made several extravagant (and some flat-out false) promises. But Obama’s bold pledge to bend the health care “cost curve” downward—promising “typical” families annual cost savings of $2,500—turned out to be the most punitive policy failure.
Cost Explosion: A comprehensive Heritage Foundation analysis shows that insurance premiums in the nation’s individual health insurance markets jumped a stunning 133 percent between 2013 and 2024, roughly twice as fast as premium increases in the employer-based health insurance market.
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