Republicans talk about making Obamacare better, not repealing it, so it is ‘becoming a politically untouchable part’ of the safety net

“A law once derided as ‘Obamacare’ and demonized as a big-government power grab is becoming a politically untouchable part of the American safety net, like Social Security and Medicare before it,” writes Dan Diamond, lead health reporter for The Washington Post.

As evidence, Diamond cites President Joe Biden’s “celebration” of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act as he runs for re-election and former president Donald Trump’s “grudging acceptance” of the 2010 law: he no longer wants to repeal it, just “make it better.”

In Kentucky, where then-Gov. Steve Beshear embraced Obamacare by expanding Medicaid to the point that it covers every third person in the state, Republicans have realized its political appeal and have not pushed to replicate the failed efforts of Republican Matt Bevin, governor in 2015-19, to impose work requirements on Medicaid beneficiaries.

Nationally, “More than 45 million people now rely on the ACA and its provisions for health coverage, according to a federal report released last week, and the law’s protections for people who have pre-existing conditions have transformed many Americans’ experience of health care. Yet for nearly a decade, Republicans like Trump successfully ran on pledges to ‘repeal Obamacare’ — and Democrats sometimes ran from it, scarred by the law’s bumpy rollout, the constant political attacks and the struggle to communicate its benefits,” Diamond notes. “But when Trump and his Republican allies nearly repealed the ACA — falling one senator short in July 2017 — it sparked passionate efforts to defend it and catalyzed new, long-lasting support.”

Between the time Trump was elected and took office, outgoing Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell “rolled out a 70-day crash plan to shore up support for the health law, developing targeted maps to show members of Congress how the law was affecting their communities,” Diamond reports. “She worked the phones to reach GOP lawmakers and governors, seeking promises that they would not cut the protections for people with pre-existing conditions — one of the most beloved parts of the law, and one of the most integral. Burwell knew preserving that provision would complicate the ability to repeal the broader ACA. . . . Ultimately, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) blocked the repeal in a dramatic late-night vote,” killing a so-called “skinny repeal” bill sponsored by Republican Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.

“Today, more Americans than ever have health coverage, with about 21 million insured through the ACA’s private health plans, up from 12 million when Biden took office, according to a federal report released last week,” Diamond reports. “Another 23 million gained coverage through the law’s expansion of the Medicaid program.”