This is exactly what the Republicans feared. Applications for Obamacare - a.k.a. the Affordable Care Act - were so overwhelming during yesterday's roll out that they literally swamped the system. With Reuters estimating over 10 million "unique" visitors on the first day of the Obamacare roll out, the GOP's line-in-the-sand government shutdown over Obamacare is looking like a fool's errand.
Whether Americans were visiting healthcare.gov or state sites like California's coveredca.com the reality is Phase I of what the Republicans feared is now complete. Simply put, people want access to affordable health care, and are not clamoring to have Obamacare shutdown.
Phase II of what the Republicans fear is just around the corner. It will come when the vast majority of Americans start recognizing the benefits that Obamacare has already brought to America. People will absolutely fall in love with the fact that pre-existing conditions won't disqualify you from coverage, that their kids can stay on their insurance plans until they're 26, that getting sick will not get you dropped from coverage, and that there will no longer be lifetime caps on insurance payouts, among other benefits.
Americans will especially enjoy rebates from insurance companies that don't spend at least 80 percent of what they take in from premiums on medical care.
Phase III will come when people realize that there are no death panels, that you're exempt from the law if you can't find a plan that costs less than 8 percent of your income, and that federal agents aren't going to knock on your door if you don't sign up.
Once America sees that much of what Obamacare opponents were saying about the program was built around deception (OK, a pack of lies) Republican fears over a political backlash should cause some serious soul searching within the party (then again, it might not). And, one can only hope, we will see a purging of the Tea Party from the Republican ranks.
At the end of the day, once Americans realize that their taxes aren't going up to fund Obamacare (it's paid for by reducing Medicare payouts to hospitals and insurers and new taxes on the medical-insurance industry and on investment income for people who make more than $200,000 per year) they will understand that all the hype was really just that, hype.
For a quick overview of how Obamacare affects the vast majority of Americans the Kaiser Family Foundation has put together this useful clip (here it is in Spanish) ...
If there is a Phase IV of what the Republicans fear it's going to be when Obamacare opponents realize that they were played for fools.
There's more, but you get the point. What the GOP has always feared about Obamacare is here.
- Mark
Phase II of what the Republicans fear is just around the corner. It will come when the vast majority of Americans start recognizing the benefits that Obamacare has already brought to America. People will absolutely fall in love with the fact that pre-existing conditions won't disqualify you from coverage, that their kids can stay on their insurance plans until they're 26, that getting sick will not get you dropped from coverage, and that there will no longer be lifetime caps on insurance payouts, among other benefits.
Americans will especially enjoy rebates from insurance companies that don't spend at least 80 percent of what they take in from premiums on medical care.
Phase III will come when people realize that there are no death panels, that you're exempt from the law if you can't find a plan that costs less than 8 percent of your income, and that federal agents aren't going to knock on your door if you don't sign up.
Once America sees that much of what Obamacare opponents were saying about the program was built around deception (OK, a pack of lies) Republican fears over a political backlash should cause some serious soul searching within the party (then again, it might not). And, one can only hope, we will see a purging of the Tea Party from the Republican ranks.
At the end of the day, once Americans realize that their taxes aren't going up to fund Obamacare (it's paid for by reducing Medicare payouts to hospitals and insurers and new taxes on the medical-insurance industry and on investment income for people who make more than $200,000 per year) they will understand that all the hype was really just that, hype.
For a quick overview of how Obamacare affects the vast majority of Americans the Kaiser Family Foundation has put together this useful clip (here it is in Spanish) ...
There's more, but you get the point. What the GOP has always feared about Obamacare is here.
- Mark
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