We commend embattled President Barack Obama and his administration for enrolling 7.1 million previously uninsured Americans for private health insurance coverage before the March 31 deadline mandated by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Obama said, “That’s on top of the more than three million young adults who get insurance under this law by staying on their family’s plan,” due to new provisions in his signature legislation. Many of the newly enrolled individuals would previously have been denied coverage due to preexisting conditions, which is no longer legal, under this transformative legislation.
“In the end, history is not kind to those who would deny Americans their basic economic security,” Obama said. “Nobody remembers well those who stand in the way of America’s progress or their people.” Sadly, Republicans are not listening to this simple wisdom, as repealing Obamacare remains a plank in the Republican platform.
We think they will fail, in the end. The individual mandate to enroll by March 31, enforced by fines, was designed to enlarge the pool of insured Americans to eventually drive down costs of services for everyone in the market. We expect that this will, in fact, happen. We also are certain that all health care consumers will come to appreciate this act’s provision that at least 80 percent of their premium dollar must now pay for health care benefits, or their insurance company will owe them a rebate. And the great many Americans with preexisting conditions whose health is now insured can be expected to defend this legislation when it next comes under attack.
President Obama’s tenure in the White House is historic for obvious reasons that we have championed many times. But it is clear now that his breaking the color barrier at the highest level of electoral politics may not be his most lasting contribution to American history. He may well be remembered as the president who fought the health insurance industry – within the limits of his powers, and with imperfect results – in the interests of the health of all of the American people.
