Record Number On Obamacare (That's Not Good Enough)

 

There are a record number of people now covered by the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) -- about 31 million people. That's because of President Biden extending the registration period and providing a little more help in paying private insurance premiums. I wish I could say that has fixed our broken health care system, but the truth is that much more needs to be done.

There are still millions of American citizens with no health insurance at all -- preventing them from getting crucial and life-saving preventative care (which costs the lives of thousands of citizens every year).

These are people who cannot afford the private insurance premiums (even with government help) and don't qualify for Medicaid (thanks to very stringent state laws).

This is a national embarrassment, as we are the only developed nation that doesn't cover all of its citizens with either health care or health insurance. We must fix this!

The optimal way to fix it would be Medicare-For-All. But that doesn't yet have enough support among the population or in Congress. 

There is another way though -- a public option for health insurance. Government insurance that would cover everyone that cannot qualify for or afford private insurance, and would provide a low cost alternative for others. A public option for health insurance is supported by about two-thirds of the American public, and should be passed by Congress. President Biden has already said he would sign a public option bill.

Sadly, Republicans still don't recognize the right of citizens to decent health care. They still view health care as a product to be sold only to those who can afford it. They would undoubtably filibuster any bill creating a public option.

That's just one more reason (among many) why the Senate filibuster must be eliminated.