The gleeful Trump-hating media, the gaggle of Republican never Trumpers and an army of leftist Democrats who never gave the new President a chance to govern, remind me of a mutinous crew of a ship congratulating themselves for overthrowing their captain as their ship sinks.
Yes, these loosely united members of the very political establishment that Donald Trump was elected to check, handed Trump a major defeat by failing to take the first step in fixing Obamacare, which is about to implode. But they also gave the people who depend upon Obamacare to provide healthcare for them and their families the certainty of higher premiums, higher deductibles and less choices of doctors who will treat them.
Some to pay three times as much, while some pay little or none
That’s because Obamacare has been a financial disaster, which all social programs end up being, after one group of people, the middle class, are forced to pay ever-escalating premiums, while other groups pay little or none. Sure, they have social medicine in Canada, but Canadians who can afford it, still come to the United States for major heart surgery and other life-saving healthcare. Fidel Castro’s Cuba offers free healthcare for all, but there aren’t enough doctors or medical facilities to treat them. And so it goes, the socialist way.
A recent study from the Kaiser Family Foundation found that Obamacare premiums are projected to increase about 22 percent this year.
That’s three times the 7.5 percent increase it tallied from 2015 to 2016. Meanwhile, 5.6 million young, healthy Americans, the kind Obamacare needs in order for it to work, declined to enroll and instead opted to pay a $1,000 tax penalty rather than paying $500 a month for one of the few plans available. Can you blame them?
No time to celebrate for Trump haters
Meanwhile, major health insurers have had enough. According to CNN, Aetna recently announced it is no longer going to sell healthcare coverage in 11 of 15 states where it now offers it. Why? It’s losing $430 million. This latest withdrawal from the Obamacare marketplace follows cutbacks by Humana, which is withdrawing from 1,200 counties in eight states and major market withdrawals from UnitedHeathcare.
So while the political talking heads and anti-Trump establishment celebrate their latest success in crushing Trump’s “repeal and replace” Obamacare initiative, the American people can look forward to their healthcare coverage shrinking and their premiums skyrocketing. Good job, Anti-Trumpers. Good job!
