USA/Obamacare—
By Suzanne Potter, producer, California News Service, bureau of Public News Service.
The Affordable Care Act has just turned 16, and California leaders are calling on Congress to reverse the massive health care cuts Republicans made last year.
The measure expanded Medicaid coverage to 20 million more Americans, allowed adult children to stay on their parents’ policies until age 26, and banned price discrimination based on preexisting conditions.
Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said the public pressure remains crucial.
“The people out there are the bosses,” Pelosi emphasized. “That mobilization makes all the difference in the world. Helped us pass the bill, helped us save the bill, and now it’s going to have to help us get it all back.”
Republicans continue to attack the ACA
Republicans have tried and failed to repeal the Affordable Care Act dozens of times. Last fall, they allowed COVID-era health care subsidies to expire, and the resulting jump in premiums caused 50,000 Californians to drop their coverage. Lawmakers also cut a trillion dollars from Medicaid in the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” and increased red tape, which is forecast to push millions more off the program. GOP supporters put the savings toward tax cuts and increased immigration enforcement.
Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., said GOP lawmakers are prioritizing the wrong things.
“They just rolled a little grenade into the health care system and blew it up to give tax cuts to corporations and billionaires,” Lofgren contended. “Now we’re spending $2 billion a day on a reckless war in Iran.”
Dr. Jerry Abraham, president of the Los Angeles County Medical Association and director of integration and public health at Kedren Community Health Center in South Los Angeles, said the cuts to MediCal are already hurting access to health care by slashing revenue at clinics and hospitals.
“We’re gonna see more hospital closures in the most challenging parts of the state,” Abraham projected. “Rural places where people already drive hours to get to a labor and delivery or an emergency room.”
Covered CA estimated 130,000 Californians who lost the subsidies ended up downgrading their coverage to less expensive “bronze” plans.
