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New Report Shows Obamacare a Historic Success, Reduces Costs by $2.5 Trillion

New Report Shows Obamacare a Historic Success, Reduces Costs by $2.5 Trillion

The results keep coming in, and despite all the naysayers, Obamacare is projected to reduce American health expenses by $2.5 trillion dollars over the next five years, according to a report by the Urban Institute. Medicare costs will drop by $384 billion, Medicaid by $927 billion, and private health insurance by $688 billion.

Healthcare cost inflation is down to 2.6%, the lowest it’s ever been, while providing health insurance to 13 million Americans. While the specific effect of the Obamacare law cannot be quantified due to the huge spread of factors that affect these numbers, the report concludes that ” it is clear that the nation has successfully expanded coverage and is now expected to spend considerably less than anticipated even before the law was enacted. ”

Republicans still won’t admit they’re wrong. Florida’s governor Rick Scott just backtracked on his promise to expand healthcare coverage for low-income Floridians because the federal government would like the state of Florida to shoulder some of the cost, while Rick Scott believes $675 million in corporate tax breaks is a bigger priority than the well-being of his citizens. The right’s hypocrisy is incredible. While Republican governors whine and moan and campaign on refusing Obamacare subsidies, they turn right around and hold their hands out as soon as they get re-elected, as the governors of Arizona, Alabama, Indiana, Tennessee, Kansas, and Ohio have done. The biggest irony is that the Republicans who trumpet against government handouts the loudest are the ones whose states need them the most.

As the King vs. Burwell case reaches the Supreme Court and the fate of Obamacare subsidies rest in the balance, it’s clear that Obamacare is a long-term project and the full effect has yet to be seen, but that it’s been a great success so far. Obviously, a law that revolutionizes the healthcare system for a nation of 300 million will take some time to put into effect, but we can all be thankful at the benefits it has brought to our people and our national debt. Don’t listen to the liars of the Republican Party- we’ve accomplished something big here.

 

Colin Taylor
Opinion columnist and former editor-in-chief of Occupy Democrats. He graduated from Bennington College with a Bachelor's degree in history and political science. He now focuses on advancing the cause of social justice and equality in America.

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