ADRIANA TAKES ON OBAMACARE ARCHITECT
Obamacare architect Jonathan Gruber famously called Americans stupid for not understanding the intricacies of the Affordable Care Act.
So, I called him up yesterday for a refresher as rates soar and Donald Trump threatens to pull the plug on the program.
The MIT economics professor admitted the ACA isn’t perfect: “It has worked for some people and not others.” But what about it costing jobs? “This is a dog that doesn’t bark,” he said of that line of questioning.
But it’s also a dog that won’t roll over and learn new tricks. Premiums are expected to jump by 25 percent, with even the White House admitting the pain is intensifying. But back to the professor. “Obamacare is a Republican plan,” he argued. “It’s Romneycare on a national level.”
Could be why we didn’t see Mitt Romney run for president again.
Still, give Jonathan Gruber credit. He isn’t hiding from his baby. In fact, he’s calling it a success and wants — wait for it — millions of illegal immigrants to get coverage.
“I support this idea because I think it is socially just to include these individuals in our health care system,” he said. “I don’t think it would meaningfully impact the functioning of the ACA — it would probably improve the law’s impact because exchanges would grow. But subsidy costs would grow a lot too, so those would have to be paid for.”
Yes, by taxpayers. So what about the ACA hurting our national debt?
“The ACA overall actually lowers the national debt over time — the increased revenues and reduced spending in other programs more than pays for the Medicaid expansion and tax credits.”
He also explained that if the ACA provides 20 million Americans with insurance and a few “anecdotes” lose their insurance or suffer due to higher costs, it’s worth it.
He also said those people who saw their plans canceled “never had real insurance to begin with.”
I thought Obamacare was the great equalizer?
As for the proposed Cadillac tax — a hefty 40 percent excise tax on generous employer plans — he backed it: “We should all pay more so others can get insurance.”
Punish good companies? That is truly painful.
Still, I appreciate the Ford Professor of Economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for picking up the phone between classes to talk ACA.
Come Nov. 8 voters must decide if they want to keep throwing money at the Titanic hitting the iceberg. If so, they should vote for Hillary Clinton, who will keep pumping our paychecks into the ACA. Or we can pull the lever for Trump, who will repeal it and stop the hemorrhaging.
You decide.