Years from now, history is going to look back on the Affordable Care Act (aka “Obamacare”) as a law that befuddles people who weren’t alive when it was first passed. They’ll look back and mock those who levied such blind hatred toward the law much in the same way we do those who stood against every other piece of historic legislation that was passed in this country.
Because no matter what “horrors” Republicans try to sell to the American people about “Obamacare,” reality continues to prove otherwise. Aside from all the ridiculous nonsense (death panels, government takeover of health care, socialism) the biggest talking point they initially tried to use was that it was a “job killer.” Then again, what isn’t a “job killer” to Republicans? It’s their go-to fear mongering talking point. Well, as we’ve seen with unemployment dropping below 6%, over 10 million private-sector jobs being created since the law was passed and 2014 being the best year for job creation since the 90′s – the ACA hasn’t “killed jobs.”
Then we can’t forget about this time last year when Republicans were falling all over themselves with joy following the disastrous marketplace rollout. Though reality ultimately showed that it had very little impact as over 8 million Americans used the health care exchange to sign up for health insurance.
The next lie they then tried to push was that even though over 8 million people signed up for “Obamacare,” only a small fraction of those people would actually pay. Wrong again. In fact, 90 percent of the people who signed up for health care through the marketplace paid for their coverage.
Well, now a new Gallup poll crushes another right-wing lie about dissatisfaction with coverage, showing that an overwhelming number of people who signed up for insurance for the first time thanks to the Affordable Care Act approve of their health care. And even the numbers for people who already had health insurance remain overwhelmingly positive.
When respondents were asked to rate the quality of health care they received, 74 percent rated it “excellent/good” with only 5 percent rating it “poor.” But not only that, people who already had insurance before “Obamacare” gave their health insurance even higher marks with 81 percent saying their coverage was “excellent/good” and only 4 percent rating it as poor. So it’s not just “people who’ve never had insurance” being happy about finally getting health coverage. People who already had insurance actually gave their current coverage higher ratings than those who were newly insured this year.
Then when they were asked about the cost of health care, the big issue Republicans have fearmongered on for years, 75 percent said they were “satisfied.”
And when the “newly insured” were asked what plans they had for their health coverage in 2015, 90 percent said they were going to keep paying for health insurance (even if some were going to switch plans or carriers) and only 2 percent said they were going to drop coverage.
It’s become comical at this point to see Republicans continue to push for a full repeal of “Obamacare” when even new Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) practically admitted that the law had been an overwhelming success in his home state – while still pushing to repeal the law.
I’ve joked here lately that I’m waiting for the day a few years from now when Republicans try to take credit for the Affordable Care Act.
As time continues to march forward, one Republican lie after another continues to fall. But the problem is, you’ll never hear about any of this on Fox News or any other right-wing media outlet. Though I can assure if you this Gallup poll showed Americans overwhelmingly rejecting their coverage, they would be all over it.
And that’s ultimately the biggest problem when dealing with conservatives. They only trust their handpicked news sources and those sources constantly lie to them, while telling them anyone debunking those lies is part of some “liberal media-controlled conspiracy” to hide their made up version of the truth.
But the numbers don’t lie. And as this Gallup poll shows, an overwhelming number of Americans are incredibly satisfied with the health care and coverage they’ve received since the marketplace launched last year.
No comments:
Post a Comment