Salon: “Here’s a riddle for anyone who thinks the politics of Obamacare are straightforward, and toxic for Democrats. How is it possible, in defiance of public rebuke, widespread misinformation and other headwinds, that insurance enrollment is surging in just about every state in the country?”
Is it because, when people tried it, they liked it, and told their friends? Is it possible that when they tried it, they realized that everything they heard from the Republicans were lies? For the first time since ABC News and Washington Post started polling on public support for Obamacare, the law is viewed positively. 49 percent support. 48 percent oppose. The shift proves the argument that Democrats and liberals have made: that when the benefits of the law prove all Republicans liars, people will support and approve of the law.
Sally Kohn at CNN lists the benefits of the law, a law that benefits all Americans:
More than 6 million [now 7 million] Americans signed up for Obamacare before the March 31 deadline to get private health insurance through the Affordable Care Act exchanges. This is great news for the Obama administration. But there are millions more reasons to celebrate Obamacare. Actually, at the writing of this essay, there are more than 317 million reasons — because that’s the population of the United States of America and every single one of us can benefit from health care reform. How? Here’s a rundown by the numbers: […]
105 million–That’s how many Americans no longer have lifetime expense caps, whether it’s because they have chronic illnesses or because their insurance company set restrictive policies.
6.1 million–That’s how many Americans with Medicare Part D no longer have to go through the “doughnut hole” coverage gap. This means seniors can save more than $5.7 billion on prescription drugs.
3.2 million–That’s the number of small businesses estimated to be eligible for tax credits for providing health insurance to their 19.3 million employees nationwide, credits worth $15.4 billion in 2011 alone.
4.4 million–That’s how many low-income adults will now have access to health insurance thanks to states implementing the expansion of Medicaid under Obamacare; an additional 5.8 million poor adults would be included in this count if 25 mostly Republican-led states weren’t refusing Medicaid expansion.
50 to 129 million–That’s how many people will benefit from the Obamacare provision that eliminates all bars for coverage based on pre-existing conditions. Studies say that anywhere from 19% to 50% of non-elderly Americans have health conditions that could qualify as pre-existing conditions.
49.4 million–That’s how many current Medicare enrollees can feel secure knowing that, under Obamacare, existing Medicare benefits can neither be reduced nor taken away.
317 million
— That’s how many Americans — i.e., all of us — potentially benefit from the requirement that insurance companies provide flu shots, HIV screenings, prostate exams, mammograms and FDA-approved contraception for free, without a co-pay.
— Plus, we all benefit from new requirements that insurance companies must spend at least 80% of our premium dollars on our health care as opposed to marketing or administration.
— We all benefit from the new requirement that insurance companies publicly justify their actions if they want to raise premiums by 10% or more.
— We all benefit from knowing that our insurance can now never be capped or canceled at the whim of insurance companies.
As high quality care is maintained while costs may go down because of improved coverage and access, we all benefit from a more affordable and effective health care system.