Representative John Garamendi (D-CA) debated Fox host Neil Cavuto today about the Affordable Care Act aka Obamacare. Garamendi did a terrific job knocking down Cavuto’s attacks on the program.
“Would you say it didn’t work out as you wanted?” Cavuto asked Garamendi pointedly.
“Actually, we knew from the very outset that through time, there would need to be changes made to the law,” Garamendi replied.
“I don’t remember people telling me get ready for double digit increases, get ready for eye popping deductibles, I don’t remember being sold that way,” Cavuto complained.
Garamendi shot back, “Before the Affordable Care Act occurred, there were, in fact, double digit increases every year, way beyond the general rate of inflation across the United States, usually 2-3 times greater than the general rate of inflation.”
When Cavuto expressed doubt (without any statistics or evidence to back it up), Garamendi said, “I was the insurance commissioner in California in the mid-2000s, and I’m telling you it happened.”
Garamendi later said, “As a result of the Affordable Care Act, we have seen a reduction in the rate of increases in health care.”
Cavuto could not refute that so he complained, “We’re bragging about the fact that costs are going up, but they would’ve gone up a lot more without this law. You simply cannot prove that.”
“Yes I can,” Garamendi countered. “I can go back to the statistical analysis that has been set in all of the insurance across the United States and in the general health care across the United States.” A graphic popped up on the screen showing big premium hikes in four states.
“Their governors did not set up a proper insurance exchange,” Garamendi responded. “The exchanges have worked rather well.”
Cavuto quipped, “They’re going out of business faster than me passing up fruit at a buffet.”
“There are clearly problems,” Garamendi acknowledged. But, he added, “You repeal the Affordable Care Act, and the regulation of insurance rates is gone.”
Not mentioned in the debate was the fact that the uninsured rate is at an all-time low, thanks to the ACA. Also not mentioned was that Americans prefer that Obamacare be fixed, not repealed.
Watch it below, from the January 4, 2017 Cavuto: Coast to Coast show.
Garamendi could and should have opened with the statement that the ACA was designed to work with everyone participating – but the GOP flat-out refused to participate. Garamendi also let Cavuto get away with inserting a blatant lie about the GOP’s “alternatives” being ignored when the ACA was written. The GOP’s “alternative idea” was to refer the whole thing back to committee and try to paperwork the whole thing to death, just as they had with Hillarycare back in the 90s. They had no intention of coming up with a new plan, and they frankly have no intention of coming up with anything now.
The sad reality of what is about to happen is that these guys never cared about whether or not people had health coverage. The Right Wing idea is for people to just save up and put money in health savings accounts and perhaps have a “catastrophic” plan for absolute emergencies. Meaning that the whole burden pretty much falls on the individual and you’re on your own. Or in simpler GOP terms, IGMFU. The notion of a group plan that everyone participates in is completely foreign to these people.
And they were never going to go along with anything that came from Barack Obama in the first place. The saddest part of this is that he really did compromise the bill to try to bring them on board – and in his worst move there, he pulled out the public option, which would have actually brought millions more Americans on board.
Instead, we’ll have to look back on this experience as an example of what happens when centrist liberals attempt to appease the Far Right. The answer is that the Right Wing always folds its arms and says NOPE. And now we will have the result of watching these guys completely dismantle the whole ACA.
Within two weeks, it will be as if President Obama never happened. We will remember it, and we should, but the reality is that we’re essentially starting over from scratch, if not actually moving a few steps backward from 2008.
If not them, who?
If not now, when?
The realization looming is not only are many millions on ACA but a clear majority are happy with their insurance. Now Republicans are fretting they have to deliver something but have no clue what.
Comically I heard yesterday the pack of hypocrites is coming up with a government funded subsidy plan for catastrophic coverage. However, without the mandate the idiots opposed they don’t have an effective risk pool and their far less robust plan likely will cost more than ACA. You won’t hear that on Fox News. 👈
Plus both CNBC and CNN Money are reporting repealing Obamacare will blow massive holes into the budget. Like over a trillion dollars over a decade. If I recall, CNBC said it’ll cost over 3 million jobs.
Irony of irony, coal country which hated Clinton now is in a panic ACA black lung coverage will go away.
If this s—t wasn’t so terribly sad it’d be funny.
When the American population finally reaches sanity and has universal healthcare, we will ask, “Why in the hell didn’t we do this a long time ago??!”.
