Years of Attack Leave Obamacare a More Government-Focused Health Law

The following article by Robert Pear was posted on the New York Times website December 27, 2017:

Volunteers in the Maine People’s Alliance office before going door to door to urge voters to back Medicaid expansion in Bangor, Me., in October. Credit Sarah Rice for The New York Times

WASHINGTON — 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And while President Trump insisted again on Tuesday that the health law was “essentially” being repealed, what remains of it appears relatively stable and increasingly government-funded.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. Continue reading “Years of Attack Leave Obamacare a More Government-Focused Health Law”