Access to affordable health care at stake in election
By Ben Bright October 24, 2020
With Election Day fast upon us, most voters have already made their decisions on whom to support. In fact, many have already voted by mail throughout the country, state, and even here in Washington County, with more than a third of all the likely votes cast in the county coming by mail-in ballot. And, while many of the 80,000 or so remaining voters who are likely to show up to vote at the polls on Nov. 3 have also made up their minds, there are issues that could still sway them to vote one way or the other. The one issue that affects all Americans, and which will likely sway the presidential race, is access to affordable health care.
Any discussion about health care needs to start with the Affordable Care Act (ACA), commonly known as Obamacare. Modeled after Republican health care plans and passed by Democrats in 2010, the intent was to expand access to health insurance coverage to millions of Americans by creating a new marketplace for individuals to purchase health insurance outside of their employer, to expand Medicaid, and to provide coverage of preventative care. One of the first provisions to take effect was one of the most popular parts – allowing children to remain on their parents’ health insurance coverage until the age of 26. The ACA also guaranteed that insurance companies could not deny or increase rates on individuals with pre-existing conditions, a hot topic on the campaign trail.
By the numbers, the ACA has been a success. The number of uninsured Americans fell from 44 million to 27 million between its implementation in 2010 and 2016. Since President Trump took office in 2016, the ACA has been under constant attack. In 2017, the Republican-led Congress attempted to repeal the ACA entirely, falling just one vote short when Sen. John McCain famously voted against the measure. Since failing to get the votes to overturn it, the Trump administration has spent the last few years weakening, or eliminating altogether, important provisions that gave more people coverage and kept costs low.
The first of these provisions to be eliminated was what was known as the individual mandate. This required all Americans to have health insurance or face a tax penalty. While not popular, this provision was the same as requiring all licensed drivers to carry car insurance. Those most affected by this provision were younger, healthier individuals who did not feel that paying for insurance that they would barely use was necessary. But for many, the point of health insurance, like car insurance, is to have in case of emergency and to greatly reduce the risk of financial hardship from unforeseen medical bills. The Trump Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 removed this mandate, which, in turn, has led to the first increase in uninsured Americans in 10 years, with 1.4 million previously insured Americans no longer having health insurance.
Now, in the midst of a global pandemic, the administration is suing to repeal the ACA in its entirety, including pre-existing conditions protections. With the fast-tracked nomination and presumptive confirmation of Amy Coney Barrett, the Supreme Court will add another judge likely to vote against its survival. If the ACA is repealed, here in Washington County alone 14,000 people would lose access to affordable health insurance with no backup plan in place.
Trump also cut funding to the marketing aspects of the ACA. Every fall there is an open enrollment period for individuals to purchase insurance plans through the federal marketplace. Over the past few years the national advertising related to relaying this important information has been drastically reduced. The ACA also created the Navigator program to provide outreach, education, and enrollment assistance to those looking to purchase insurance through the marketplace. Before Trump took office, this program was provided $63 million annually by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. In 2020, the budget for this program was reduced to $10 million. If the uninsured do not know what options are available and how to get help navigating the process, they will continue to lack insurance. We need to do better for all Americans.
That is what Joe Biden wants to do, Build Back Better. Biden is not about tearing things down, but instead working together to fix things that are broken and bringing new ideas to old problems. In regard to health care, Biden wants to improve on the ACA by giving more choice, reducing actual health care costs, and making our health care system easier to navigate. Biden wants to give more Americans, especially those with low incomes, access to affordable health care. He will also increase the availability of tax credits to middle-class families to help them pay for coverage.
Biden will also fight for lower prescription drug prices, something that Trump has promised but remains undelivered. Biden will repeal the exception that allows drug corporations to avoid negotiating with Medicare over drug prices. Medicare is used by so many Americans that it would have significant leverage in lowering drug prices if given the power to do so.
Drug companies also rely on taxpayers to help increase their profits by receiving tax breaks on their advertisement spending. Advertising costs by drug manufacturers have gone from $1.3 billion in 1997 to $6 billion in 2016. All of this increase has been passed on to consumers through tax credits and increases in drug prices. Biden will work to end this practice and lower drug prices for millions of Americans.
When Trump ran for president four years ago, he made many promises that have gone unmet. He promised to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, and has failed to repeal it and has no plan of his own to replace it. He promised to lower drug prices and has tweeted several times that he has successfully done so, but the numbers do not back him up. With the country in the middle of the pandemic, Trump continues to try to take the ability to purchase affordable health insurance away from millions of Americans. Biden will fight for all Americans to have access to affordable health care, not take it away at a time when it is most needed. Remember this when you go to the polls.
Ben Bright is chairman of the Washington County Democratic Committee.
https://observer-reporter.com/opinion/op-eds/op-ed-access-to-affordable-health-care-at-stake-in-election/article_cf8d5332-13c7-11eb-9bba-7369b3303422.html
