Why Obamacare is unlikely to die a swift death

[matt819]

1. What does repealing Obamacare even mean?

I just renewed my policy under the Affordable Care Act. As far as I'm concerned, I paid my first premium and so have health insurance coverage.

Now, because of the ACA, I applied a portion of my expected credit to my monthly premium, reducing my monthly premium by $350. Do the math. That's a pretty substantial savings, $4,200.

I chose the plan I chose for a number of reasons, not least of which is the credit. Otherwise, my monthly premium would have been close to $1,600. Had that been the case, I would probably have chosen a different plan.

Now, I'm not happy about the premium cost. That's the major reason I've been unhappy with plans under the ACA. That said, buying a plan privately and directly from the insurance companies would have pushed the premiums close to $24,000 a year. So that's a major reason I've been happy with plans under the ACA. To saying nothing of the pre-existing condition issue.

So, here I am with decisions made because of the laws in place on a given date. And here I am with what I consider to be a contract with my insurance company.

So. . . what happens if Congress is successful in repealing the ACA? Credit gone? Insurance gone? Premiums up? This is what Republicans simply do not understand about life. Or, more likely, they understand; they just don't care. People kind of like certainty. NATO members like the idea of knowing that the US will come to their aid. I kind of like the idea that commitments don't change at the whim of a given administration.