Google tells me that the cost of extending the Obamacare subsidies one year is between $30-35 billion. Republicans want no part of it. But they are okay with giving Argentina $40 billion. Meanwhile, the billionaires still get their tax cuts.
Mike, take a look at mepd's very honest and accurate explianation.
The fact is (this is verifiable and proven)
Obama care is a failure ! It never did what it promised to do.
Fact 2 : the covid subsidies put in place when our world was shut down and people could not work had an expiration date ! They were never meant to be forever handouts.
Fact 3: insurance companies and middlemen are the only benefactors of these subsidies.
President Trumps idea of putting the money in the hands of the people eliminates the middlemen, and forces more competition amongst the conglomorates which will lower costs for all.
The bottom line: like mepd's sumation said, "there is no perfect solution". But, we must lower costs for all, and not fatten the pockets of big insuance companies or middlemen.
It's idiotic to claim Obamacare is a failure. Even with Trump carving it up as much as he could it's still very popular for many reasons. Since Trump has no healthcare plan, it's equally idiotic to claim Obamacare is easily replaceable or that Trump has a better plan.
Yes, the subsidies were originally planned to be temporary, that doesn't mean they have to be if it's in the best interests of the citizens to continue them. They aren't handouts, they're subsidies, just like the farmers get.
"Insurance companies and middlemen"? You seem to forget the American citizens who get healthcare. Are insurance companies white collar thieves? Absolutely. Let me know when Trump has a plan to replace Obamacare with something better that also changes that. He's had almost 10 years and has no clue what to do. His suggested $2k per person for healthcare is beyond moronic and impractical. It would give virtually no insurance to people, but Trump doesn't know that because he has no idea what insurance costs.
I agree with MEPD that there's no perfect solution, and that the government is too large and too inefficient to manage anything really well, which is why when people criticize Obamacare I know they don't have a clue about how hard it would be to come up with something better. It's been 15 years and the Republicans, and now MAGA, have come nowhere close to a better plan. Believe me, I'm not saying we can't do better, but I AM saying Trump can't do better. Remember when he said he'd repeal and replace Obamacare on the first day of his first term? Then his people started explaining to his infantile mind the complexities of the issues facing programs like this and he suddenly claimed no one knew how hard it was. Well, a lot of people knew, but when you're a malignant narcissist, if you don't know that means no one knows.
Look, people like us are going to subsidize people that can't pay for healthcare one way or another, either by paying more for health insurance or by paying more for health services. There's no way around it. Frankly, I don't care which way they work it, it's going to end up costing me the same either way, I just can't stand listening to people who support a guy who has no plan criticize the plan that's in place and has helped millions of people.
If you want to go to a system where hospitals have to treat people even without insurance for all their healthcare instead of just emergency stabilizing care like they do now, but those people don't have insurance, I think you'll find in the long run it's basically going to cost us about the same. But until you support someone who actually has a plan better than Obamacare you should really stop carping about Obamacare.
Letting the Affordable Care Act subsities expire will : (1) Greatly increase premiums (2) Cause up to and over 20 million Americans lose health care (3) Hit self-employed and Senior Americans the hardest (4) Will be devastating for people with pre-existing conditions and the disabled (5) Cause the closure of many rural hospitals creating health care deserts (6) Cause job losses and hurt state revenues....the extent Trump will go to erases Obama's legacy...
JW, please read Scott's excellent list of the disastrous repercussions from your dear leader's idiotic moves. If anything Scott is understating the catastrophe that awaits, as people being unable to change jobs because they have pre-existing medical conditions shackled Americans for decades.
(1) Greatly increase premiums: Yes, this is true. Analyses indicate that the expiration of enhanced ACA subsidies would cause average premium payments for subsidized enrollees to more than double, rising from about $888 annually in 2025 to $1,904 in 2026. This is due to a combination of reverting to original subsidy levels and proposed premium hikes by insurers. While these may seem like large increases, they are largely due to Marketplace increases.
(2) Cause up to and over 20 million Americans to lose health care: No, this is overstated. Reliable estimates project that around 4 to 5 million people would become uninsured in 2026 if the subsidies expire, not 20 million or more. The 20 million figure may stem from confusion with the total number of Marketplace enrollees (over 24 million in 2025), many of whom benefit from subsidies but would not all drop coverage, though they would face higher costs.
(3) Hit self-employed and Senior Americans the hardest: Self-employed individuals often rely on Marketplace plans, so they would face significant premium increases alongside other enrollees. Seniors (particularly those aged 50-64 not yet eligible for Medicare) would be hit harder due to age-based premium rating, with examples showing older couples potentially facing annual increases exceeding $20,000 if above certain income thresholds.
(4) Will be devastating for people with pre-existing conditions and the disabled: The ACA's protections against denial for pre-existing conditions remain in place, but if 4-5 million become uninsured due to unaffordability, individuals with pre-existing conditions or disabilities could face barriers to care and higher out-of-pocket costs. This group may be disproportionately affected if they rely on Marketplace subsidies to maintain coverage.
(5) Cause the closure of many rural hospitals creating health care deserts: The expiration could lead to a $1.6 billion drop in rural hospital revenues in 2026 alone, with longer-term estimates of $87 billion over 10 years, alongside a $6.3 billion increase in uncompensated care nationwide. These effects would be more severe in rural areas, especially in non-Medicaid expansion states, potentially exacerbating financial strain on already vulnerable hospitals and risking closures or reduced services, which could create or worsen health care deserts.
(6) Cause job losses and hurt state revenues: Yes, this is supported by projections. The economic ripple effects could result in nearly 340,000 job losses across the U.S. in 2026 (about half in health care), a $40.7 billion reduction in state GDPs, and a $2.5 billion decline in state and local tax revenues. These losses stem from reduced health care spending and broader economic contraction.
So there you have it.
But let's be honest for once. This whole mess has more to do with the predicted failure of Obamacare and both the Dems and Repubs tacit avoidance of, or abject fear of, dealing with universal healthcare.
There are no easy solutions to this, and the fact of the matter is that any solution that may be compromised will cost all of us significantly, and it will not be perfect by any measure.
Just take a look at how the VA Healthcare system works.
JW, you're always railing about people getting handouts or taking money, but don't seem to understand that Trump is grifting more than anyone. Why are you so blind?
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(7) comments
Mike, take a look at mepd's very honest and accurate explianation.
The fact is (this is verifiable and proven)
Obama care is a failure ! It never did what it promised to do.
Fact 2 : the covid subsidies put in place when our world was shut down and people could not work had an expiration date ! They were never meant to be forever handouts.
Fact 3: insurance companies and middlemen are the only benefactors of these subsidies.
President Trumps idea of putting the money in the hands of the people eliminates the middlemen, and forces more competition amongst the conglomorates which will lower costs for all.
The bottom line: like mepd's sumation said, "there is no perfect solution". But, we must lower costs for all, and not fatten the pockets of big insuance companies or middlemen.
JW,
It's idiotic to claim Obamacare is a failure. Even with Trump carving it up as much as he could it's still very popular for many reasons. Since Trump has no healthcare plan, it's equally idiotic to claim Obamacare is easily replaceable or that Trump has a better plan.
Yes, the subsidies were originally planned to be temporary, that doesn't mean they have to be if it's in the best interests of the citizens to continue them. They aren't handouts, they're subsidies, just like the farmers get.
"Insurance companies and middlemen"? You seem to forget the American citizens who get healthcare. Are insurance companies white collar thieves? Absolutely. Let me know when Trump has a plan to replace Obamacare with something better that also changes that. He's had almost 10 years and has no clue what to do. His suggested $2k per person for healthcare is beyond moronic and impractical. It would give virtually no insurance to people, but Trump doesn't know that because he has no idea what insurance costs.
I agree with MEPD that there's no perfect solution, and that the government is too large and too inefficient to manage anything really well, which is why when people criticize Obamacare I know they don't have a clue about how hard it would be to come up with something better. It's been 15 years and the Republicans, and now MAGA, have come nowhere close to a better plan. Believe me, I'm not saying we can't do better, but I AM saying Trump can't do better. Remember when he said he'd repeal and replace Obamacare on the first day of his first term? Then his people started explaining to his infantile mind the complexities of the issues facing programs like this and he suddenly claimed no one knew how hard it was. Well, a lot of people knew, but when you're a malignant narcissist, if you don't know that means no one knows.
Look, people like us are going to subsidize people that can't pay for healthcare one way or another, either by paying more for health insurance or by paying more for health services. There's no way around it. Frankly, I don't care which way they work it, it's going to end up costing me the same either way, I just can't stand listening to people who support a guy who has no plan criticize the plan that's in place and has helped millions of people.
If you want to go to a system where hospitals have to treat people even without insurance for all their healthcare instead of just emergency stabilizing care like they do now, but those people don't have insurance, I think you'll find in the long run it's basically going to cost us about the same. But until you support someone who actually has a plan better than Obamacare you should really stop carping about Obamacare.
Letting the Affordable Care Act subsities expire will : (1) Greatly increase premiums (2) Cause up to and over 20 million Americans lose health care (3) Hit self-employed and Senior Americans the hardest (4) Will be devastating for people with pre-existing conditions and the disabled (5) Cause the closure of many rural hospitals creating health care deserts (6) Cause job losses and hurt state revenues....the extent Trump will go to erases Obama's legacy...
Yes, the ACA only made insurance company theives rich.
It handed them piles of money, even for people who never used any services or made any claims.
Not extending these taxpayer funded handouts is absolutely the best choice in the best interest of American citizens.
We should all be praying that our president continues representing us and not all the left leaning pork. Yay DJT !
JW, please read Scott's excellent list of the disastrous repercussions from your dear leader's idiotic moves. If anything Scott is understating the catastrophe that awaits, as people being unable to change jobs because they have pre-existing medical conditions shackled Americans for decades.
(1) Greatly increase premiums: Yes, this is true. Analyses indicate that the expiration of enhanced ACA subsidies would cause average premium payments for subsidized enrollees to more than double, rising from about $888 annually in 2025 to $1,904 in 2026. This is due to a combination of reverting to original subsidy levels and proposed premium hikes by insurers. While these may seem like large increases, they are largely due to Marketplace increases.
(2) Cause up to and over 20 million Americans to lose health care: No, this is overstated. Reliable estimates project that around 4 to 5 million people would become uninsured in 2026 if the subsidies expire, not 20 million or more. The 20 million figure may stem from confusion with the total number of Marketplace enrollees (over 24 million in 2025), many of whom benefit from subsidies but would not all drop coverage, though they would face higher costs.
(3) Hit self-employed and Senior Americans the hardest: Self-employed individuals often rely on Marketplace plans, so they would face significant premium increases alongside other enrollees. Seniors (particularly those aged 50-64 not yet eligible for Medicare) would be hit harder due to age-based premium rating, with examples showing older couples potentially facing annual increases exceeding $20,000 if above certain income thresholds.
(4) Will be devastating for people with pre-existing conditions and the disabled: The ACA's protections against denial for pre-existing conditions remain in place, but if 4-5 million become uninsured due to unaffordability, individuals with pre-existing conditions or disabilities could face barriers to care and higher out-of-pocket costs. This group may be disproportionately affected if they rely on Marketplace subsidies to maintain coverage.
(5) Cause the closure of many rural hospitals creating health care deserts: The expiration could lead to a $1.6 billion drop in rural hospital revenues in 2026 alone, with longer-term estimates of $87 billion over 10 years, alongside a $6.3 billion increase in uncompensated care nationwide. These effects would be more severe in rural areas, especially in non-Medicaid expansion states, potentially exacerbating financial strain on already vulnerable hospitals and risking closures or reduced services, which could create or worsen health care deserts.
(6) Cause job losses and hurt state revenues: Yes, this is supported by projections. The economic ripple effects could result in nearly 340,000 job losses across the U.S. in 2026 (about half in health care), a $40.7 billion reduction in state GDPs, and a $2.5 billion decline in state and local tax revenues. These losses stem from reduced health care spending and broader economic contraction.
So there you have it.
But let's be honest for once. This whole mess has more to do with the predicted failure of Obamacare and both the Dems and Repubs tacit avoidance of, or abject fear of, dealing with universal healthcare.
There are no easy solutions to this, and the fact of the matter is that any solution that may be compromised will cost all of us significantly, and it will not be perfect by any measure.
Just take a look at how the VA Healthcare system works.
One size will never fit all.
JW, you're always railing about people getting handouts or taking money, but don't seem to understand that Trump is grifting more than anyone. Why are you so blind?
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PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.