DEMS/GOP/HEALTHCARE/OBAMACARE(ACA)/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The Affordable Care Act was conceived as a mix of publicly funded health care and privately purchased insurance, but Republican attacks, culminating this month in the death of a mandate that most Americans have insurance, are shifting the balance, giving the government a larger role than Democrats ever anticipated.
And while President Trump insisted again on Tuesday that the health law was ‘essentially’ being repealed, what remains of it appears relatively stable and increasingly government-funded.
In short, President Barack Obama’s signature domestic achievement is becoming more like what conservatives despise — government-run health care — thanks in part to Republican efforts that are raising premiums for people without government assistance and allowing them to skirt coverage.
By ending the tax penalty for people who do not have coverage, beginning in 2019, Republicans may hasten the flight of customers who now pay the full cost of their insurance. Among those left behind under the umbrella of the Affordable Care Act would be people of modest means who qualify for Medicaid or receive sizable subsidies for private insurance.”
-Robert Pear, “Years of Attack Leave Obamacare a More Government-Focused Health Law,” The New York Times online, Dec. 26, 2017