Obamacare a disaster? No way

Donald Trump has said that Obamacare is a “disaster.” While Republicans often try to cloud the issue with questionable statistics, I cannot see any way that the Affordable Care Act is a disaster for the American people.

Is it a disaster that 20 million Americans have health insurance, who otherwise could not get insurance? Is it a disaster that dependent children can stay on their parent’s policy until age 26? Is it a disaster that there is no longer a cap on insurance benefits? Is it a disaster that insurance companies are now required to cover pre-existing conditions?

Is it a disaster that health insurance must cover preventive medicine? Is it a disaster that women cannot be charged more than men for the same insurance? Is it a disaster that insurance companies cannot cancel your policy when you get sick? Is it a disaster that Medicaid was expanded in many states to cover Americans with incomes less than 138 percent of the poverty level (90 percent of which is paid for by the federal government)? Is it a disaster that Americans making only 100-400 percent above the poverty level can get federal support in paying for their health insurance?

Is it a disaster that the top one-tenth of 1 percent of Americans are required to pay a little extra in taxes? Oh, now I understand why Obamacare is a “disaster.”

This story was originally published January 19, 2017 at 4:07 PM with the headline "Obamacare a disaster? No way."