‘Bidencare’ is indeed a great thing Business

In 2010, during the signing of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as Obamacare, At the time, United States Vice President Joe Biden was caught telling President Barack Obama on an open microphone that the law was “a great thing.” Well, actually he said another word in the middle. In any case, Biden was right. One of his greatest…

In 2010, during the signing of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as Obamacare, At the time, United States Vice President Joe Biden was caught telling President Barack Obama on an open microphone that the law was “a great thing.” Well, actually he said another word in the middle. In any case, Biden was right. One of his greatest underrated achievements — it’s surprising how many Americans think he was an unusually productive president who didn’t do much — is that Biden Obamacare Even bigger, as it is improving the lives of millions of Americans.

As you may have noticed, Biden has been putting up some good numbers lately. Defying widespread predictions of a recession, economic growth continues apace, while unemployment remains near its lowest level in 50 years. Inflation, especially using the Fed’s preferred gauge, has moved closer to the central bank’s target. And the stock market is constantly hitting new highs.

Oh, homicides are down, and violent crime overall may be at its lowest level in 50 years.

Biden deserves some political reward for this good news, as Donald Trump and many in his party predicted economic and social disaster if he were elected, and Republicans in general continue to talk about high inflation in the United States. and uncontrolled crime. (Trump, of course, calls the good jobs numbers bogus. Wait until he hears about the crime drop.)

What’s less clear is how much of the good news on this front can be attributed to Biden’s policies. Presidents certainly don’t control the stock market. In general, they have less influence on the economy than many believe; I will give Biden some credit for the strength of the economy, which has been driven by his spending policies, but the rapid disinflation of 2023 is primarily a reflection of a country trying to recover from persistent disruptions. Nationwide outbreak of covid. The same can be said for the decline in violent crime.

However, there is one area in which presidents wield great influence: healthcare. He Obamacare It led to sweeping reforms in health insurance coverage when it came into full effect in 2014. Trump tried to repeal it Obamacare in 2017, but failed, and the backlash from that effort helped Democrats take control of the House of Representatives the following year. Trump, however, could partially curtail the program, for example by cutting funding for “navigators” who help people register.

This erosion is now definitely fixed. The Biden administration just announced that 21 million people have signed up for coverage through the ACA’s health insurance marketplaces, up from about 12 million on the eve of the pandemic. The United States does not yet have universal coverage as common as other wealthy countries, but some states such as Massachusetts and New York have come close.

And this progress, unlike other good things, is entirely due to Biden, who restored help to those seeking health coverage and reformed key aspects of the system. system of Obamacare It’s not easy. Many health economists I know would have favored something like Medicare for All, if it had been politically possible. But it wasn’t and still isn’t, so what we have in its place is a kind of Rube Goldberg machine, a hodgepodge of gadgets designed to expand access to healthcare with minimal change to existing systems. Those markets, where insurers are prohibited from discriminating against people with pre-existing conditions and buyers receive subsidies to help them pay premiums, are a key part of the system.

It’s not an ideal method, but it’s better than nothing. Initially, however, the markets were under-resourced: assistance was very low, so many people still had problems paying insurance premiums, and it was also limited, as assistance was only available to those who were below 400% of the poverty line. .

Biden, as part of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, largely addressed these problems by lowering maximum premium payments (net of subsidies) and eliminating the 400% cap. The result is that health insurance coverage is significantly more affordable, especially for middle-income Americans who previously earned too much to qualify for assistance. This has led to an increase in registrations in the market.

I don’t know if healthcare will be an important issue in the 2024 election. But it should be.

Biden has made health coverage more accessible and affordable for millions of Americans.

However, if Trump wins, he will try to end it again Obamacare; He has already said it, and it is very possible that this time he will succeed. He promises to replace it with something “much better.” I guess this depends on your definition of better: In 2017, the Congressional Budget Office estimated that Trump’s health plan would increase the number of uninsured by 32 million over a decade; That figure would probably be higher today.

So, another reminder of how much is at stake this year.

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