Dem
51
GOP
49
Obamacare is the signature policy accomplishment of the Barack Obama administration, of course. It also looms pretty large on Joe Biden's political résumé as well, since he was a key figure in the negotiations over the original package as VP, and then has worked aggressively to expand the program as president.
This being the case, it's no surprise that the White House did some crowing this week over the huge number of people signing up for insurance under Obamacare. The total number for 2023 is already 16 million, which is a record; once the deadline arrives (Jan. 16), that number is expected to grow to 19 million. On Dec. 15 alone, 745,000 people signed up, which is a record for a single day.
On Wednesday, the White House issued a statement on the matter. It begins:
The Affordable Care Act is more popular than ever, and Affordable Care Act coverage is more affordable than ever. More Americans have signed up for health care coverage through the Affordable Care Act marketplaces than ever before. With nearly a month left in open enrollment, more than 19 million people have signed up for coverage, breaking all previous records. Enrollment has grown by more than 7 million people since I took office.
Obviously, Biden hopes to make this a centerpiece of his 2024 campaign. How well that will work for him is anyone's guess. Stories about Republicans who use Obamacare, but nonetheless hate those infernal socialist Democrats, are practically a genre unto themselves.
This weekend, we had a letter from reader D.E. in Austin, talking about some of the serious problems with Obamacare insurance. But is that the fault of Obamacare in general, or of Texas' implementation of Obamacare? We thought we would ask readers to write in about their experiences with the program. We'll run some responses next week. (Z)