As reported late last month by Brendan Kirby of LifeZette.com, a new study put out by the Heritage Foundation indicates that competition within the Obamacare health insurance exchanges declined for the third straight year in 2018. Specifically, the study found that a total of 181 companies are selling policies this year, which is down from 218 companies last year and 253 when the exchanges became available online in 2014. The year before that, 395 companies were selling individual health insurance policies, which means that choice within the Obamacare healthcare system has contracted by roughly 54 percent. This is exactly what happens when government plays too big of a role in things that it has no business playing a role in.
“Essentially, what this is pointing to is, you have a market that’s a niche market,” explained Edmund Haislmaier, author of the report and senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation. “It’s not going to have no insurers in it. It’s only going to be attractive to certain insurers.” Haislmaier went on to say that Americans who are not directly covered by the government or a company-sponsored healthcare plan will have to choose between Medicaid managed-care firms and companies that lack expansive networks. (Related: Here’s why private health care would be less expensive than Obamacare while providing more choices for individuals.)
This is just one of the many reasons why Republicans in congress must continue to not only repeal the Affordable Care Act as they’ve promised the American people time and time again, but also replace it with a system that encourages choice and competition. While the Democrats insist (as they always do) that more government control is the key to fixing America’s healthcare system, what they don’t understand is that more government is the problem. If our country is to rebuild what once was the best – not perfect, but the best – healthcare system on earth, then we must do it without government breathing down our neck every step of the way. Otherwise, nothing will ever change. (Related: Reality check – Obamacare is killing people right now).
Recently, South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham (who most of the time doesn’t come across as the most conservative member of congress) did an exclusive interview with Breitbart News, in which he explained that abandoning efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act would be the “biggest mistake we could make of 2018.”
“One of the biggest miscalculations we can make in 2018 is to abandon our efforts to replace Obamacare and it will not hurt us at the ballot box. It will hurt us at the ballot box because most Republicans are going to feel let down. The public is going to see healthcare costs go up and hold us accountable for not trying. This could be the biggest mistake we could make in 2018,” Graham warned.
The senator from South Carolina added that even if Republicans fall short after putting it up for a vote, “at least we put people on the record,” meaning that republican voters will be able to clearly see who is committed to keeping their promise and who isn’t.
For the good of our economy and America’s healthcare system, let’s hope that congressional Republicans keep their promise and repeal the Affordable Care Act once and for all.
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