A short, simple post to close out the week. As Democrats insist that the country accept their latest healthcare "solutions" -- including $35 trillion schemes that would force every American onto a government system that massively expands, and makes mandatory, existing programs that are already facing fiscal and access crises -- it's very important to recall the last time they asked voters to trust them on this front. Less than a decade ago, they introduced and rammed through Obamacare, which they insisted was a panacea with no drawbacks or policy tradeoffs. It would expand coverage, yes, but most importantly, it would lower costs for everyone. The plan was literally called the Affordable Care Act, after all. How has that been going?
In 2008, middle-class workers spent about 7.8% of household income on premiums and deductibles.
— ABC News (@ABC) November 21, 2019
By 2018, that figure had climbed to 11.5%. https://t.co/u1iaCkAfoA
According to a new report by The Commonwealth Fund, rising premium and deductibles contributions have outstripped wage growth over the past decade. More and more middle-class Americans are paying a greater percentage of earnings for health care. The report analyzed survey data from 40,000 private-sector employers, as well as income data from the Census Bureau...In 2008, middle-class workers spent about 7.8% of household income on premiums and deductibles. By 2018, that figure had climbed to 11.5%.
This is a complex phenomenon, with multiple causes -- but the primary point of Obamacare was to arrest and reverse the cost trajectory. As we've been tracking for years now, the animating goal and promise of the "Affordable" Care Act is a failure. The Left will point to this as evidence of the need for single-payer healthcare, and call for a new, compulsory government monopoly. Costs are just too high with the private sector, they'll say, and Obamacare didn't work because it tried to work with the existing healthcare industry, which was a fatal flaw. So they'll push a radical new plan.
They'll demand that Americans agree to the government eliminating the private healthcare coverage of 180 million people, the vast majority of whom are satisfied with their existing situations. They'll demand that everyone pay much, much higher taxes, while often hiding the ball on that reality in their rhetoric. And they'll downplay very real consequences such as decreased access to care, government rationing of care, and a drop-off in medical innovation. The Party of Government had one big bite at the healthcare apple, very recently. They blew it, based on their own standards and metrics. And now they'll insist that they just need to go much, much bigger. Believe them this time, it'll be great. You shouldn't, and it won't.
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