Lawmakers haven't repealed the Affordable Care Act, but have been removing some of its most unpopular elements and taxes while leaving most of its provisions in place, leaving its supporter optimistic that the controversial law will continue to stand.
“The ACA is like an overachieving child with parents who got divorced that’s still on track to go to a good college,” Bob Kocher, a former White House health care staffer who helped write the act while serving under President Barack Obama, told The Hill.
So far, over the past few months, the Obamacare mandate requiring Americans to have insurance has been repealed, and several taxes, including a Cadillac tax on high-cost plans, has been put on hold.
Obamacare's more popular parts, including subsidies to help cut the costs of insurance premiums, as well as provisions to protect people with pre-existing conditions, have remained.
In addition, Medicaid expansion remains in place.
Kocher noted that the subsidies will be hard to touch, as "no politician" wants to take those away.
This year's Obamacare enrollment took only a small dip, despite a shorter enrollment period, and in many states, fewer options for coverage.
Also, people who earn too much to qualify for subsidies are facing higher premium costs, leading Jonathan Gruber, who helped write the law, to complain that it has "shrunk to a public entitlement program."
Further, by repealing the individual mandate for Obamacare, people who don't qualify for subsidies are expected to face larger premium increases, experts fear.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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