Healthcare
As you know the Obamacare aka Affordable Care Act (ACA) provides affordable health coverage for 23 Million Americans mainly intended for families who cannot otherwise afford an expensive health insurance. Obamacare also ensured that people with preexisting health conditions can no longer be denied coverage and it also brought down the prescription drug prices. It’s Obama’s golden shield to protect the poor from the claws of the greedy insurance and drug companies. Through the Medicaid expansion options within Obamacare, he made sure that even the poorest were covered. When trump came in power, during his first year, he did everything to break Obamacare and replace it with a 'skinny' trumpcare repeal bill. But John McCain, the Republican Senator threw it out of the Senate window showing the Famous thumps down on that Bill. He knew exactly what kind of flawed plan it was which didn’t even care about the people with Pre-existing conditions.
Trump then finally figured out that Trumpcare is not going to be a reality and tried to Break Obamacare by doing everything he could, which included shortening the enrolment window, cutdown advertisements with the intention that the premiums will go up when fewer people participate, cutting subsidies for participating insurance companies, etc,
The worst was the Public Charge rule which Trump introduced which threatened Legal permanent residents from using Medicaid for their kids or spouse with a health conditions. If they use it, it will cause theirs and their family’s citizenship application to be denied. I have heard stories where many people were really on the edge during covid times Praying that they won’t lose their employment or insurance. It takes a around 15 years for a legal alien to become a Citizen. Just imagine their citizenship getting denied because their kids or spouse got sick, and they had to use Medicaid. What kind of Sick Mind will introduce a Law like that?
Trump’s main complaint about Obamacare was that the taxes were going up? Taxes for who. He is the one who lowered the taxes for the top 1% which caused the middle-class taxes to go up.
I am saying all this because if trump gets elected another term, he will find some way to break Obamacare which will throw millions of people out of insurance protection and these will be mainly the poor and people with preexisting conditions who need Health insurance badly.
Biden made many elections promises to Strengthen and build on Obamacare, Lowering Medicare eligibility, adding a government-run public option, Lowering drug prices, etc. Most of these are included in the Build Back better Plan, But do you think the Trumocrats like Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema are going to let this build back better plan to pass in its entirety to Strengthen Obamacare?. I doubt it.
No one wants Biden to be like President Obama. But at the least carry forward Obamas legacy, what he stood for, and the people he cared for.
by Hari Ramachandran