Nine years after President Obama signed the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, into law, Americans are still wondering how beneficial that healthcare law has been, especially after congressional Democrats have openly stated that the law was flawed and needed to be fixed.
Republicans have tried to “repeal and replace” the controversial law, but failed to do so during the Obama years, and throughout President Trump’s first two years in office.
But now that Democrats control the U.S. House of Representatives, there is revived hope that the failing healthcare law can be preserved, and possibly expanded.
Florida Congresswoman Debbie Mucarsel-Powell (D) is one of those congressional Democrats who wants to “expand” healthcare access, citing that “millions of Floridians gained access to health care” when the law was implemented.
"When I was associate dean at the College of Health at @FIU, I saw how the #ACA changed lives when it was signed 9 years ago. Millions of Floridians gained access to health care and were protected under the law. I’m proud to continue this fight to expand access to every American!"-Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell
Mucarsel-Powell is right in asserting that millions of people received coverage under Obamacare, but millions more lost their company-sponsored healthcare after the law’s implementation. The business community realized that it was less expensive for them to pay penalty associated with Obamacare, than provide their employees’ healthcare benefits.
In addition, individuals who did received first time healthcare coverage caused insurance company costs to skyrocket when they sought treatments and tests, costs that were then passed on other consumers in the form of higher premiums.
Many Democrats like Mucarsell-Powell also favor a single-payer, fully government-funded healthcare system. Mucarsel-Powell’s recent support of the “Green New Deal” solidifies her support for a single-payer system.
The Green New Deal calls for all individual healthcare insurance costs to be transferred to the federal government.
