The Trump administration has been a wrecking ball for poor and middle-class America. The Obamacare Sabotage will decimate many. Interestingly, the people who are most affected by the evil perpetrated by Trump and his cabal affect the people who voted for him. It is imperative that Progressives find a way to inform them pre-2018-election.
Obamacare Sabotage
As the final stretch to the election approaches, we must get ahead of the blast of misinformation financed by the Right Wing magnates who follow the Powell Manifesto. Robert Reich’s recent article titled “Hold them accountable for undermining the Affordable Care Act” details how they are doing it.
1. They’ve repealed the requirement that all Americans sign up for health insurance. Republicans slipped this repeal into their tax cut for the wealthy and corporations.
But that requirement had meant enough healthy people were enrolled to cover the sick. Without it, 4 million Americans will lose coverage by 2019 and premiums will increase by 10 percent, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
2. They’ve cut subsidies that help an estimated 6 million low-income Americans afford coverage through private insurers. Trump wants you to believe these cuts will save money. Baloney. Ending the subsidies is expected to drive up premiums, thereby increasing costs for taxpayers.
3. They want to flood the insurance market with junk plans. They’ve made it easier for small businesses and individuals to buy alternative types of health insurance with fewer benefits and weaker protections. This will leave sicker people and those with pre-existing conditions out in the cold.
4. They’ve made it harder for people to sign up for coverage – shortening the enrollment period, scaling back outreach efforts, increasing the amount of paperwork. It’s even been reported that the Trump administration redirected funds from a marketing campaign designed to promote enrollment to a campaign criticizing the law.
5. They’ve stopped defending key provisions of the law in court. The Justice Department has stopped defending the Affordable Care Act’s protections for Americans with preexisting conditions in a case brought by Republican attorneys general.
Remember, we must continue to explain to all specifically how Trump’s actions will affect them specifically. Then it is imperative that we give them Progressives’ solutions. In other words, it is not only about the evil Trump is doing but what our people will do when they get into office. We must have these points on the tip of our tongue and ready.