After 13 Years, ‘Obamacare’ Offers Broken Promises and Costly Consequences

More than a decade after its adoption, a review of former President Barack Obama’s health care law reveals a history of broken promises and costly consequences.

Signed into law on March 23, 2010, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, commonly known as the Affordable Care Act (ACA) or “Obamacare,” promised Americans that they could keep their doctors and current insurance. But after three years of data showing that millions lost both insurance and their doctors, President Obama attempted to revise the promise. Regardless, this revision was also proven false by independent fact-checking sources.

Furthermore, Obama claimed that the ACA would reduce the average American family’s healthcare costs by about $2,500 annually. However, data accumulated by The Heritage Foundation reveals that mandates increased insurance costs by over 129% between 2013 and 2019, effectively doubling the cost of individual health insurance.

While supporters of the ACA argue that the number of Americans with health insurance coverage has risen, the gains are predominantly due to an increase in Medicaid enrollment. According to the Foundation for Government Accountability, the high cost of ACA premiums forces those who cannot afford the cost into either Obamacare subsidies or Medicaid. The Medicaid expansion component of Obamacare allows adults under or at 138% of the poverty level to receive Medicaid, jointly funded by the state and federal government.

In late 2022, the Foundation for Government Accountability predicted that Medicaid enrollment would reach 100 million individuals by mid-March 2023. Medicaid expansion was supposed to improve hospitals’ financial health and create multiple jobs but ultimately led to 50 hospitals shutting down across various expansion states by 2023, reducing accessibility to healthcare, and eliminating jobs.

Obama’s healthcare law remains advantageous, however, as it is the foundation of the ongoing federal takeover of private healthcare in America.

The Department of Health and Human Services has heavily implemented mandates to exert control over Americans, and the Biden Administration currently seeks a new health crisis to retain federal power over states.