A remarkable phenomenon that came to light this last few weeks was how popular Obamacare had become once a repeal became a possibility. Many observers have become skeptical of polling data, one reason being that so many people decline to participate in them. So they were skeptical of the new polls about Obamacare's favorable ratings.
But the polls may have been right. Customers hated it until they thought they might lose it. Steve Chapman offers some explanations in Why Trump Can’t Fix Health Care:
Only lately has it occurred to many detractors that ACA also has elements that they would rather not surrender—such as allowing young adults to stay on their parents' policies until age 26, barring exclusions for pre-existing conditions, mandating free preventive care, giving subsidies to moderate- and low-income people and expanding eligibility for Medicaid.
But then this:
Trump has led voters to believe they can have all the stuff they want and none of the stuff they resent. But neither he nor anyone else has found a plausible way to accomplish that.
The mournful realities are inescapable. If you remove the individual mandate, you allow younger and healthier people to opt out, which would mean higher premiums for older and sicker ones. If you cut the cost of Medicaid, you leave a lot of poorer Americans without coverage, forced to rely on expensive emergency room care. If you eliminate the taxes, you raise the federal deficit.
This simple truism became obvious: There are no easy fixes.
3:30 PM 3/27/2017
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