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grantcart

(53,061 posts)
Fri Mar 24, 2017, 06:59 PM Mar 2017

Proof that the ACA is not "imploding" "collapsing" or "falling apart"

Every time one of the paid talking heads or Trump/Ryan assert that the ACA is collapsing I am tempted to throw my TV out the window. Fortunately there is an absolute proof that is not the case, look at where the basic architecture has been in place the longest and is immune from Republican subterfuge.

Look at the results in Massachusetts where the individual mandate with state subsidies was started in 2006:



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massachusetts_health_care_reform#Outcomes

A more complete report released in January 2012 found between 2006 and 2010 emergency department visits and non-urgent visits had dropped 1.9 and 3.8% respectively.[59] A 2014 study found that the reform was associated with "significant reductions in all-cause mortality and deaths from causes amenable to health care."[60]

According to a 2016 study in the American Economic Journal, the reform "reduced the amount of debt that was past due, improved credit scores, reduced personal bankruptcies and reduced third-party collections."[61] The authors note that the "results show that health care reform has implications that extend well beyond the health of those who gain insurance coverage."[61]



In fact in 2012 virtually all opposition to it, even by Republicans, stopped:



https://www.forbes.com/sites/kenrapoza/2012/01/20/romney-care-massachusetts-healthcare-reform/#304ace345b00

Repealing this miserably failure of a law, as some in the Wall Street Journal have called it, was not an issue in the 2010 gubernatorial campaign in the state. Even Republican juniors in the Senate and House are not working on repealing RomneyCare like similar freshman Republicans in Washington seem so hellbent on killing Obama's plan. The conservative Boston Herald says it is worth supporting. There is no rancor, or backlash. Once, a conservative group called Citizens For Life, an anti-abortion group in the state, tried to get signatures to repeal the law. They failed to get enough people to sign the petition.



The only reason that there are gaps and inconsistencies in the ACA, and not in Romney care is simple: Legislators in Massachusetts worked together to keep improving it while Republicans have worked to sabotage it.

There is nothing wrong in the ACA that cannot be fixed relatively easily, and there are still important elements that have not kicked in. Insurance requires certainty and consistently so that insurance company actuaries can have a stable foundation to plan on. The strength of the ACA architecture is demonstrated by the fact that despite an all out assault by the Republicans over 8 years it functions pretty well most of the time.

The only thing structurally wrong with the ACA is the Republican effort to sabotage it.
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Proof that the ACA is not "imploding" "collapsing" or "falling apart" (Original Post) grantcart Mar 2017 OP
Your statistics about reduction in emergency room visits are before Obamacare was enacted. former9thward Mar 2017 #1
Its not about Obamacare, its about Romney Care, which was enacted in 2006 grantcart Mar 2017 #2
He specified that it was in reference to MA's program in 2006. synergie Mar 2017 #3
Thanks, people are rushing through threads, so much happening at one time. grantcart Mar 2017 #4
.kick grantcart Mar 2017 #5

former9thward

(31,805 posts)
1. Your statistics about reduction in emergency room visits are before Obamacare was enacted.
Fri Mar 24, 2017, 07:04 PM
Mar 2017

You may wish to check years before you post and bold such definitive statements.

grantcart

(53,061 posts)
2. Its not about Obamacare, its about Romney Care, which was enacted in 2006
Fri Mar 24, 2017, 07:14 PM
Mar 2017

The point is that the state that had the system the longest has had consistent and favourable outcomes and is not only not in danger of collapsing but has no local opposition within the state, even among Republicans.

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