‘We Finally Declared That in America, Health Care Is Not a Privilege for a Few, but a Right for Everybody’
In a rare move former President Barack Obama has issued a statement ahead of the Republican House vote to kill ObamaCare. Noting it is the seven-year anniversary of the law he signed, President Obama said, “The Affordable Care Act is law only because millions of Americans mobilized, and organized, and decided that this fight was about more than health care – it was about the character of our country.”
“It was about whether the wealthiest nation on Earth would make sure that neither illness nor twist of fate would rob us of everything we’ve worked so hard to build. It was about whether we look out for one another, as neighbors, and fellow citizens, who care about each other’s success. This fight is still about all that today. And Americans who love their country still have the power to change it.”
The President makes many other points. A few excerpts (all quotes):
- more than twenty million Americans have gained the security and peace of mind of health insurance
- more than ninety percent of Americans are insured – the highest rate in our history
- the days when women could be charged more than men and Americans with pre-existing conditions could be denied coverage altogether are relics of the past
- Seniors have bigger discounts on their prescription drugs.
- Young people can stay on their parents’ plans until they turn 26 years old.
- the quality of care in hospitals … has averted nearly 100,000 deaths so far.
- Families who get coverage through their employer are paying, on average, thousands of dollars less per year than if costs kept rising as fast as they were before the law.
- reality continues to discredit the false claim that this law is in a “death spiral,†because while it’s true that some premiums have risen, the vast majority of Marketplace enrollees have experienced no average premium hike at all.
Currently, despite the fact that the text of the bill is still in flux and they do not appear to have the votes to pass it, Republicans are planning to vote on the American Health Care Act, which will repeal and “replace” ObamaCare, Thursday evening.Â
Stay tuned.
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Image by Pete Souza via Wikimedia