Republicans keep saying its a Sunmer Shut and are criticizing Obamacare. They are ignorant of history.
Let’s connect some historical dots there. Obamacare, formally the Affordable Care Act (ACA), drew inspiration from earlier healthcare reform ideas, including Romneycare and concepts floated by Nixon and the Heritage Foundation. Let’s break it down briefly:
- Romneycare: The ACA was heavily influenced by Massachusetts’ 2006 health care reform, signed into law by Governor Mitt Romney. It featured an individual mandate, subsidies for low-income individuals, and a health insurance exchange—key elements mirrored in the ACA.
- Nixon’s Proposal: In 1971, President Nixon proposed a health care plan with an employer mandate to provide insurance and a program for low-income individuals, resembling aspects of the ACA. His plan aimed for universal coverage but didn’t include an individual mandate. It faced opposition and didn’t pass.
- Heritage Foundation: In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, proposed an individual mandate as a market-based approach to health care reform. The idea was to ensure personal responsibility and avoid free-rider problems in a system with guaranteed coverage. This influenced Romneycare and, indirectly, the ACA’s framework.
While the ACA built on these ideas, it adapted them into a distinct federal framework. The individual mandate, a core similarity, became controversial despite its conservative origins. Critics and supporters alike note the evolution from Nixon’s employer-focused plan and Heritage’s market-driven ideas to the ACA’s broader approach, which included Medicaid expansion and regulations on insurers.
Obama wanted Medicare for all, but went with Obamacare to help Americans with astronomical healthcare costs. More Red State people rely on Obamacare than any plan the Republicans offer.
That always puzzled me. Given how the ACA concepts were drawn from the Heritage Foundation in many ways.
http://www.heritage.org/research/lecture/assuring-affordable-health-care-for-all-americans
Excerpt;
“…it assumes that there is an implicit contract between households and society, based on the notion that health insurance is not like other forms of insurance protection. If a young man wrecks his Porsche and has not had the foresight to obtain insurance, we may commiserate but society feels no obligation to repair his car. But health care is different. If a man is struck down by a heart attack in the street, Americans will care for him whether or not he has insurance. If we find that he has spent his money on other things rather than insurance, we may be angry, but we will not deny him services – even if that means more prudent citizens end up paying the tab. A mandate on individuals recognizes this implicit contract. Society does feel a moral obligation to insure that its citizens do not suffer from the unavailability of health care. But on the other hand, each household has the obligation, to the extent it is able, to avoid placing demands on society by protecting itself.”