COMMENTARY:
No matter how much the president and his supporters want to focus on crime and immigration, going so far as to send Black Hawk helicopters on a nighttime raid into Chicago last week, health care continues to be the issue that has vexed him and his party since the Obama administration.
It is the reason the federal government is now shut down, as Democrats try to prevent the expiration of tax credits that would mean huge increases in health care insurance premiums. A worker making $45,000 a year would see their health care premiums nearly double, from $2,475 to $4,311. Those making $28,000 would have their premiums nearly quadrupled, from $325 to $1,562 according to KFF, formerly the Kaiser Family Foundation.
And, it’s one of the main reasons the New Mexico Legislature met last week in a special session. As Congress wrestles with the issue, or not … it’s hard to tell, the state Legislature has tried to remedy some of the harm caused by HR1, formerly known as the Big Beautiful Bill.
Last week they passed legislation that will cover those who otherwise would have lost tax credits. About 6,500 New Mexicans would have seen huge increases in their health care bills if not for the state legislation. And many of them, especially the young and healthy ones, would undoubtedly have simply cancelled their insurance.
The Affordable Care Act is not socialism, as its opponents falsely claim. It’s just the opposite - an attempt to squeeze the delivery of health care into the free market system. It relies on massive government subsidies, which allow almost everybody to purchase health care insurance.
It’s estimated that enrollment in the health insurance pool more than doubled as the result of the new tax credits. Take them away, and people will make the same decision in reverse. The ACA relies on having enough young, healthy people who are unlikely to need care enrolled in the system to cover for our aging population. If they leave en masse, the whole thing collapses.
Which has been the goal for Republicans in Congress ever since 2010 when “Obamacare,” as they derisively referred to it, was passed on a straight party-line vote. Any bill making such a massive change without a drop of buy-in from the opposing party is destined to face strong and prolonged opposition.
Republicans demanding “repeal and replace” have long been united on the first goal, but not the second. That’s because health care doesn’t fit neatly into their view of the world where all problems are resolved by the free market. If it did, we would sell donated kidneys to the highest bidder and let the poor people die.
After passage of the ACA, we dismantled much of our indigent health care services on the theory that they wouldn’t be needed because everyone would be insured.
If the ACA does collapse without a plan to care for the poor, what eventually comes from the chaos that follows will not be reliant on the free-market system and will be much closer to the socialism its opponents so fear. And, it will likely be much more efficient and effective.
The NM Legislature also passed bills during the special session to increase state funding for food assistance programs, bolster the Rural Health Care Delivery Fund and change vaccine purchasing policy. It was a good start for what will be a difficult three years or more to come.
And finally, the only times the words “Chicago” and “Blackhawks” should be used in the same sentence is a discussion about hockey (go Avs!), not U.S. troops repelling down to the roof of an apartment building in the heart of the Midwest.
Walter Rubel can be reached at waltrubel@gmail.com
Walt Rubel's opinions are his own and do not necessarily reflect the views of KRWG Public Media or NMSU.