Former President Barack Obama showed up at the White House this week to help mark the anniversary of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), otherwise colloquially known as Obamacare — and while there and going through some of the history surrounding the passage of that monumental health care legislation, Obama adeptly pointed out how Republicans stood in the way.
Three years ago, I helped @EricHolder launch @AllOnTheLine, a people-powered campaign to fight gerrymandering and advocate for fair redistricting. All On The Line is driven by the core belief that voters should choose their representatives—not the other way around.
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) February 22, 2022
For ages, Republicans have used Obamacare — with its Medicaid expansions, protections for people with pre-existing conditions, subsidies for health coverage, and more — as a focal point in rhetorical attacks on Democrats. Remarkably, when in power towards the early parts of Trump’s presidency, the GOP couldn’t even muster enough support within its ranks to repeal the law — years and years after first pushing for such a move. Towards the end of Donald’s time as president, the Trump administration backed a GOP state official-led lawsuit that would have meant the end of Obamacare if successful, although the Trump administration had no replacement plan ready. As Obama pointedly explained things, discussing the time around the enactment of the ACA:
‘There were a lot of different economic interests that were vying to maintain the status quo. And because the majority of Americans did have health care, some people naturally worried that they’d lose what they had. The media was skeptical of past failures. There was a lot of misinformation, to say the least, flying around. And it’s fair to say that most Republicans showed little interest in working with us to get anything done. That’s fair to say. But despite great odds, Joe and I were determined, because we’d met too many people on the campaign trail who’d shared their stories, and our own families had been touched by illness… We’re not supposed to do this just to occupy a seat or to hang onto power. But we’re supposed to do this because it’s making a difference in the lives of the people who sent us here.’
Check out those remarks below (and watch Obama’s speech here):
"It's fair to say that most Republicans showed little interest in working with us to get anything done. That's fair to say … we're supposed to do this because it's making a difference in the lives of the people who sent us here" — Obama on the ACA pic.twitter.com/vwRwTJ2eT3
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) April 5, 2022
On Tuesday, the Biden administration rolled out a proposal to fix the so-called family glitch in the ACA’s implementation. As explained by the Biden administration, ‘Current regulations define employer-based health insurance as “affordable” if the coverage solely for the employee, and not for family members, is affordable, making family members ineligible for a premium tax credit even though they need it to afford high-quality coverage through the Marketplace.’ So health coverage could reach the affordability threshold relevant to the law — making family members of the people receiving it ineligible for certain assistance — even if the insurance doesn’t actually cover a given family’s needs, it would seem. “Should today’s proposed rule be finalized, family members of workers who are offered affordable self-only coverage but unaffordable family coverage may qualify for premium tax credits to buy ACA coverage. Should the proposed change be made, it’s estimated that 200,000 uninsured people would gain coverage, and nearly 1 million Americans would see their coverage become more affordable,” the White House added. Affordable coverage for individual workers wouldn’t affect their families’ abilities to obtain coverage like before.
The Affordable Care Act is an example of why you run for office – not just to occupy a seat, but to make a difference in people’s lives.
Today I’m joining @POTUS and @VP at the White House to celebrate everything the ACA has achieved, and help make it even better.
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) April 5, 2022
