The real reason Donald Trump is still going after Obamacare
People are desperate; Donald Trump does not care. Enrollment in both Medicaid and the ACA (Obamacare) has increased by about 50%. Along with the millions of jobs lost due to Covid-19, millions have lost health care as well. Most of the ACA applicants reported their change in circumstances to be a loss of healthcare due to job Covid-19 job loss.
The steady increase in Medicaid applicants is due to job losses for those who lost jobs that did not provide health care, but pandemic fears have pushed more people to fear to be without healthcare. Medicaid has served as the safety net for low-income individuals, and that bucket of the population is increasing. Do the Republicans honestly believe that those who cannot pay out of pocket for medical care should not seek medical attention?
Considering the steady increase in Covid-19 cases, Donald Trump thinks that this is the perfect time to ask the Supreme Court to invalidate Obamacare. Claiming that without the individual coverage mandate and two other provisions, the rest of the ACA “should not be allowed to remain in effect.” Is the destruction of Obamacare no different than the wall? Dull yet useless 2016 campaign promises? Chants of “lock her up” and “build the wall” mingled with jealousy derived challenges to Obamacare.
Is Trump just seeking to check a box? Promises made, promises kept? Trump has promised “excellent” healthcare… the best healthcare, but Republicans have failed to offer an alternative since Obamacare became law in 2010. Is a global pandemic the right time to throw twenty-three million people off of their healthcare? Both Nancy Pelosi and Joe Biden described the filing as “unfathomable cruelty.” Success in a complete dismantling of the ACA will push many states towards bankruptcy. A large part of the 23 million losing their healthcare will likely need Medicaid.
While federal dollars fund Medicaid, the balance is paid for by the states. State revenue is on a steady decline to the temporary or permanent closure of many businesses, once paying tax revenue to the states. The fourteen states that failed to adopt the Medicaid expansion will face a long, tough road as the need for the safety net grows. Of those fourteen states, thirteen of them disallow Medicaid qualification if the applicant does not have dependent children.
Virginia is a university & law school graduate, mom, entrepreneur and angry Democrat, hoping for change.