Republicans are celebrating what they say is the repeal of ObamaCare, legislation that has been in their crosshairs for several years.
Many pundits are skeptical, among them healthcare expert Michael Cannon of Cato.
“House Republicans went behind closed doors and emerged with a bill that does not repeal the core provisions of ObamaCare, and therefore cannot begin to repair the damage those provisions are causing.ObamaCare’s core provisions are the “community rating” price controls and other regulations that (supposedly) end discrimination against patients with preexisting conditions.”
The community rating provision, Cannon says, is the reason former president Bill Clinton called ObamaCare “the craziest thing in the world,” legislation in which U.S. citizens “wind up with their premiums doubled and their coverage cut in half.” Cannon says this will almost certainly ensure the Affordable Care Act’s “race to the bottom.”
Assuming this is true, what is with the suggestion that ObamaCare has been repealed? Cannon says the GOP, Democrats, and the press all have incentives to play along with the charade.
“Republicans don’t want their base to know they are reneging on their promise of repeal. Democrats want to frighten their voters into opening their checkbooks and turning out at the polls in 2018. The media love to sell ads.”
This is a dark and deeply cynical suggestion, in my opinion. It’s all the more disappointing, therefore, that I suspect Cannon may be right.
Jon Miltmore is the Senior Editor of Intellectual Takeout. He previously was the Senior Editor of The History Channel Magazine, Managing Editor at Scout.com, and a reporter for the Panama City News Herald. He served as a White House intern in the speech writing department of George W. Bush. He received degrees from the University of South Dakota (M.A.) and the University of Wisconsin-Platteville (B.A.), where he studied history and literature.
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