Republicans Should Reform Obamacare, Not Repeal It
The Republican presidential candidates have reacted to the latest court case by recommitting themselves to Obamacare repeal after a Republican victory in 2016. They are thereby transforming the coming election from a debate over the Obama record—and over the Hillary Clinton agenda—into a stark referendum on universal health coverage.
.. More than 80 percent of those who have gained coverage under the ACA were pleased with the coverage they got. Everything we know about voters tells us that they are much more motivated to protect something they already have than to vote to gain something new.
.. Riling those voters is especially unwise for a party that does best when voter turnout is low. In off-year elections, when participation drops below 40 percent, Republicans dominate. As voter numbers rise, Republicans find it harder to compete.
.. Yet even delayed, the mandate has become a major disincentive to the employment of less-skilled workers.
.. The ACA is here to stay. Its core principle of universal coverage is welcome. Its working mechanisms—regulated private markets plus Medicaid expansion—are consistent with conservative thinking. Its details, however, are troublesome and cry out for tough-minded reform to control costs, emancipate local governments, and end the fiction that the top 1 percent can pay the medical bills of all of American society.