Politicians who are married to the idea of preserving Obamacare tout numbers to buttress their case. The most prominent number is 20 million. That's the number of people they claim will lose insurance coverage if Obamacare is repealed.
There's an honest to goodness expert on the subject out there, and that's Betsy McCaughey. She was on C-Span the other day making the case for repeal and replace. And she's set out the position at Who said Trump can’t repeal ObamaCare? Excerpt:
Will 20 million lose coverage?
Not even close: 16 million of those who gained coverage are enrolled in Medicaid, the public program for low-income residents. ObamaCare allowed states to expand the category of those eligible to sign up for Medicaid, with the federal government covering the tab.
Repeal could result in less federal funding. But no one is pushing to abolish the nation’s health-safety net. And states that just expanded Medicaid are unlikely to do a 180 and shrink it. The 16 million are likely safe. ...
In short, about 5 million previously uninsured people — not the bogus 20 million — may need help after repeal. Trump is proposing market reforms to lower costs and increase choices for consumers stuck in the individual market.
And about those people with pre-existing conditions:
ObamaCare architect Ezekiel Emanuel says forcing the healthy to enroll is essential. Sorry — there’s a fairer way. Trump would allow insurers to charge sick people more, then subsidize these “high risk” customers with taxpayer dollars. That spreads the cost fairly over the whole population, instead of burdening people in the individual market.
So repeal and replace is possible if the will power it there.
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