Page 6 - MIN ECEM
P. 6
U.S. NEWS A7
Tuesday 22 March 2016
Health insurance gains due to Obama’s law, not economy
BY RICARDO ALONSO- In this March 23, 2010. file photo, President Barack Obama signs the health care bill in the East didates denounce “Obam-
ZALDIVAR Room of the White House in Washington. There’s growing evidence that most of the nation’s dra- acare” for a litany of woes.
ASSOCIATED PRESS matic jump in health care coverage is due to President Barack Obama’s law, and not the gradual But some prominent con-
WASHINGTON (AP) -- economic recovery. servative experts recognize
There’s growing evidence that the law has increased
that most of the dramatic Associated Press coverage, even as they
gain in the number of Amer- propose other approaches
icans with health care cov- lackluster rebound for em- Medicaid, which was ex- Kaestner said “most of the to meet that goal.
erage is due to President ployer-based coverage. panded under Obama’s heavy lifting” seems to be “Repealing the law without
Barack Obama’s law, and “It’s very clear that the Af- law. The percentage of coming from Medicaid ex- a plausible plan for replac-
not the gradual recovery of fordable Care Act has Americans covered by em- pansion. ing it would be a mistake,”
the nation’s economy. done most of the work in ployers stayed about the Employer-provided insur- said a policy paper from 10
That could pose a political decreasing the number of same. ance plans remain the leading GOP health policy
risk for Republicans running uninsured,” said economist - The National Health Inter- mainstay for workers and experts, published by the
against “Obamacare” in Robert Kaestner of the Uni- view Survey from the Cen- their families, covering business-oriented Ameri-
the GOP primaries as they versity of Illinois at Chicago. ters for Disease Control and an estimated 150 million can Enterprise Institute.
shift to the general election The numbers vary across Prevention also found that to 170 million Americans. Democratic front-runner
later this year. While the different government sur- employer coverage was es- But even before the 2007- Hillary Clinton has already
health care law remains veys, but the overall pat- sentially flat between 2010 2009 economic recession, previewed how Democrats
highly unpopular in the par- tern is strikingly similar: and 2014. But the same sur- workplace coverage was might use the issue this fall,
ty, the prospect of taking - The Census Bureau’s vey found 12.6 million more steadily shrinking because frequently reminding voters
away health care cover- American Community Sur- people with health insur- of rising medical costs. they risk losing some popu-
age from millions of people vey found about 3 million ance during that period. Obama’s law provides sub- lar benefits if the health
could trigger a backlash if more people gained em- - The Census Bureau’s Cur- sidized private insurance care law is eliminated.
the eventual GOP nomi- ployer coverage between rent Population Survey for those who don’t have Meanwhile, a nonpartisan
nee’s plan to replace it is 2010, when the health law found no statistically signifi- access at work, along analysis of Trump’s initial
seen as coming up short. passed, and 2014. But the cant change in the number with a Medicaid expan- outline for repealing and
“There are different phas- number of uninsured peo- of people covered by em- sion geared to low-income replacing the health care
es of the campaign,” said ple dropped by more than ployers from 2013 to 2014, adults in states that agreed law found it would push
GOP pollster Bill McInturff. 10 million during that same while the number of unin- to do so. Most individuals millions back into the “unin-
Playing to like-minded vot- period. The strongest gains sured people dropped by are required to have cover- sured” category.
ers in the primaries, Re- appeared to come from nearly 9 million as the law’s age, and larger employers
publican front-runner Don- main coverage expansion must offer it or face fines. The analysis last week from
ald Trump doesn’t have got under way during that The health care law has the nonpartisan Commit-
to spell how he’d replace time. been difficult to navigate tee for a Responsible Fed-
Obama’s law. “When you “This kind of shift in insur- for consumers, and its skin- eral Budget found that the
get to the general election, ance I don’t think can be ny policies can expose pa- Trump plan would increase
the demand for what you explained by the econo- tients to high medical bills. the number of uninsured
are going to do different my,” economist Christine But it’s becoming a back- by about 21 million people
starts to escalate.” Eibner of the RAND Corpo- stop for millions of Ameri- while costing the govern-
Under “Obamacare,” the ration said. “The increase (in cans in a changing econ- ment nearly $500 billion
share of Americans with- coverage) is large enough omy. over 10 years.
out health insurance has that it can’t be driven by On the campaign trail, Re- Replacing Obama’s law
dropped to a historic low just economic recovery.” publican presidential can- with a conservative alter-
of about 9 percent, with native that delivers com-
room to go even lower. parable coverage would
But even as the economy require considerable tax-
has expanded, major gov- payer dollars, something
ernment surveys point to a few Republicans seem
ready to accept.
“Any repeal has to have a
way to increase coverage
and not just by a few mil-
lion,” said economist Gail
Wilensky, who ran Medi-
care under former Presi-
dent George H.W. Bush.
Obama’s law “is obviously
not the only way to do this-
but it is important that it gets
done” Wilensky added.q
