Last updated on: 9/2/2015 10:13:47 AM PST
Is Obamacare Good for America?
Pro (Yes)
Pro
"I applaud the Supreme Court's decision to affirm what the authors of the Affordable Care Act [Obamacare] clearly intended and wrote into law: that health insurance should be affordable and available in every state across the country...
The Affordable Care Act isn't perfect, but the evidence is clear: it's working. Sixteen million Americans have gained coverage. Millions of young people are able to stay on their parents' plans. Insurance companies can no longer discriminate against people with preexisting conditions or charge women higher rates just because of their gender.
Republicans should stop trying to tear down the law and start working across party lines to build on these successes.
I've fought for the promise of quality, affordable health care for every American for decades. And I'm not going to stop now. Anyone seeking to lead our country should stand up and support this decision."
Source: Colin Campbell, "'Yes!': Hillary Clinton Cheers Supreme Court after Obamacare Ruling,” businessinsider.com, June 25, 2015
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Con (No)
Con
"I would do everything I could to repeal President Obama's health care plan. I think that very simply we can't afford it… The long-term solution to health care is a free market approach to healthcare. And by the way, healthcare in this country is about as far removed from free market as it possibly could be."
Source: Gary Johnson, "Gov. Gary Johnson Responds to Every Question Asked in CNN Debate He Was Excluded From," youtube.com, June 14, 2011
Con
"I will replace ACA with improved Medicare for All, which provides quality care while saving money... ACA makes a profit-driven system even more expensive by adding complexity ('exchanges') to an already massive bureaucracy. Crafted by insurers, it provides $400 billion in taxpayer subsidies for stripped-down policies that enrich insurers while forcing consumers to buy the inadequate plans through a mandate. Costs continue to skyrocket, as seen with the Massachusetts plan (on which ACA is based), impoverishing consumers, businesses and government while draining resources from safety-net hospitals and threatening care for tens of millions who'll remain uninsured."
Source: Project Vote Smart, "Jill Stein's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)," votesmart.org (accessed May 19, 2016)
Con
"As far as Obamacare is concerned... it's a disaster. It is really kicking in... in 16. It is going to be a tremendous negative for the country. And here's the problem, it's terrible, the rates are going up through the roof. You look at every aspect of Obamacare, it's just not working. And there are a lot of people that still don't have insurance. But the people that had good insurance now have bad insurance. Their deductibles are through the roof. Their rates are through the roof. And I hear more and more complaints. Another thing that nobody talks about... is doctors. I know so many doctors that are going to retire, they don't want to do it. One of my friends whose a doctor said you know I have more accountants than I have nurses because of the complexity of it. So it really does have to be changed... And, ideally, repealed and replaced... I want healthcare for everyone... You can't let the people in this country that are poor people, the people without the money, without the resources, go without healthcare. I just can't even imagine that you're sick and you can't even go to a doctor."
Source: Sandy Fitzgerald, "Trump: I Still Want 'Healthcare for Everybody,' but Not Obamacare," www.newsmax.com, July 17, 2015
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FORMER CANDIDATES
(Candidates who have withdrawn or who no longer meet our criteria appear below in black and white and in alphabetical order.)
Pro (Yes)
Pro
"The Affordable Care Act has helped more than 17 million Americans access quality and affordable health coverage. Now that the Supreme Court has, once again, upheld the Affordable Care Act, we must continue to build and improve upon this hard won-progress. With the national goal of universal coverage now affirmed, we must reduce costs by improving wellness. Innovations for better coordinated care, personalized medicine, and the alignment of profit incentives to promote wellness make all of this possible."
Source: Sam Frizell, "Here's How Democratic Presidential Contenders Reacted to the Obamacare Decision," time.com, June 25, 2015
Pro
"Today is a good day for millions of Americans who have pre-existing conditions who can no longer be rejected by insurance companies. It is a good day for families with children under 26 who can keep their children on their health insurance policies. It is a good day for women who can no longer be charged far higher premiums than men.
It is a good day for 30 million uninsured Americans who will have access to healthcare. It is a good day for seniors who will continue to see their prescription drug costs go down as the so-called doughnut hole goes away. It is a good day for small businesses who simply cannot continue to afford the escalating costs of providing insurance for their employees. It is a good day for 20 million Americans who will soon be able to find access to community health centers...
In my view, while the Affordable Care Act is an important step in the right direction and I am glad that the Supreme Court upheld it, we ultimately need to do better. If we are serious about providing high-quality, affordable healthcare as a right, not a privilege, the real solution to America's health care crisis is a Medicare-for-all, single-payer system. Until then, we will remain the only major nation that does not provide health care for every man, woman and child as a right of citizenship."
Source: Bernie Sanders, "Statement on Supreme Court Health Care Ruling," sanders.senate.gov, June 28, 2015
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Con (No)
Con
"I was disappointed by last week's Supreme Court ruling in the King v. Burwell case. But that decision is not the end of the fight against ObamaCare.
This fatally-flawed law imposes job-killing mandates, causes spending in Washington to skyrocket by $1.7 trillion, raises taxes by over a $1 trillion and drives up health care costs. Instead of fixing our health care system, it made the problems worse...
I will work with Congress to repeal and replace this flawed law with conservative reforms that empower consumers with more choices and control over their health care decisions."
Source: Jeb Bush, "This Is Not the End of the Fight against Obamacare," jeb2016.com, June 25, 2015
Con
"ObamaCare is a looming disaster.
We didn't need the monstrosity of the $1.2 trillion Affordable Care Act. Even after it is fully implemented for 10 years, 23 million people still won't have any health insurance.
We need to re-establish a strong and direct relationship between patients and their physicians. For instance, I strongly support Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) which empower families to make their own decisions about their medical treatment. HSAs will also drive down health care costs while protecting patient choice and freedom.
More freedom and less government in our health care system will mean lower costs, more access, and continued innovation."
Source: Carson America, Inc., "Ben on the Issues," www.bencarson.com (accessed Aug. 18, 2015)
Con
"Obamacare is a failure, it's always been a failure, and it will not succeed. Just won't... Obamacare is wrong, it's a failure, it's the most extraordinary overreach of government power in the history of our country."
Source: "Gov. Chris Christie: 'Obamacare Is a Failure,'" wsj.com, Nov. 18, 2013
Con
"I have made repeal of this disastrous law [Affordable Care Act] a top priority since the first day I arrived in the Senate and have made its repeal central to my campaign. Any candidate not willing to do the same--and campaign on it every day--should step aside...
After today's ruling, Obamacare will now be responsible for imposing illegal taxes on more than 11 million individuals and for burdening hundreds of thousands of businesses with illegal penalties on their workers, killing jobs, and further slowing economic growth. President Obama's health care law remains deeply unpopular and is harming countless Americans by increasing costs and worsening the quality of care.
I remain fully committed to the repeal of Obamacare--every single word of it. And, in 2017, we will do exactly that."
Source: Ted Cruz, "Cruz: Any Candidate Not Willing to Make 2016 a Referendum on Repealing Obamacare Should Step Aside," tedcruz.org, June 25, 2015
Con
"It is outrageous that the Supreme Court once again rewrote ObamaCare to save this deeply flawed law despite the plain text and in the face of overwhelming evidence that the law is not working for the majority of Americans.
ObamaCare has not lived up to what we were promised. Instead of more affordable care, premiums are rising. Instead of allowing those with insurance to stay on the plans they knew and liked, millions of people have been compelled to buy health plans that they didn't want... Instead of reducing the need for emergency care, we're seeing more ER visits. There are a whole set of problems we've created and it has become clear that this law isn't working...
We need to repeal ObamaCare. It hasn't worked."
Source: Facebook post, facebook.com/CarlyFiorina, June 25, 2015
Con
"Obama's radical policy to remake our healthcare system has left countless Americans shut out of their preferred plans with their preferred doctors, paying higher premiums and deductibles, and working fewer hours. We need to repeal and replace this deeply flawed program with real reforms that will improve access to quality, affordable care for all Americans."
Source: Lindsey Graham 2016, "Secure Our Future," www.lindseygraham.com (accessed Aug. 19, 2015)
Con
"ObamaCare is a $2.2 trillion disaster that dumps millions of people into a broken, expensive system and does nothing to fix the basic problems everyday Americans face.
• We must tackle out-of-control costs.
• ObamaCare raided $700 billion from Medicare. This is not reform -- it's theft.
• We must reject government dependency.
• We need solutions and choices -- not government mandates and new taxes.
• We must address pre-existing conditions with common sense.
As a governor, I know these issues first hand. Our system of 'sick care' is upside down. Doctors, hospitals and drug companies get paid for treating people who are sick -- not keeping people healthy or preventing illnesses. So many Americans cannot afford to get sick, while others take advantage of a system that isn't fair.
ObamaCare simply doubles down on this backwards, broken, flawed and failing system. We need honesty, leadership and real reform. As President, I will repeal ObamaCare and fight for real health care reform."
Source: Huckabee 2016, "Repealing ObamaCare--REAL Health Care Reform," www.mikehuckabee.com/healthcare (accessed Aug. 19, 2015)
Con
"I don't support Obamacare; I want to repeal it... But I did expand Medicaid because I was able to bring Ohio money back home to treat the mentally ill, the drug addicted and help the working poor get health care."
Source: Tom LoBianco, "Kasich Says He's Not an Obamacare Hypocrite," www.cnn.com, May 27, 2015
Con
"I was not a member of the United States Senate during the 111th Congress, but if I had been I would have voted against Obamacare. As your President, one of my first acts would be to repeal the abomination that is Obamacare.
As a doctor, I have had firsthand experience with the immense problems facing health care in the United States. Prior to the implementation of Obamacare, our health care system was over-regulated and in need of serious market reforms—but Obamacare is not the answer.
Government interventions in health care have driven up the cost of coverage and decreased competition within the market. More—not less—freedom to choose and innovate will make sure our health care system remains the best in the world."
Source: Rand Paul, "Rand Paul Supports Free-Market Principles in Health Care and the Repeal of Obamacare," randpaul.com (accessed Aug. 25, 2015)
Con
"I disagree with the Court's ruling [upholding the Obamacare subsidies] and believe they have once again erred in trying to correct the mistakes made by President Obama and Congress in forcing Obamacare on the American people.
Despite the Court's decision, ObamaCare is still a bad law that is having a negative impact on our country and on millions of Americans. I remain committed to repealing this bad law and replacing it with my consumer-centered plan that puts patients and families back in control of their health care decisions. We need Consumer Care, not ObamaCare."
Source: Marco Rubio, "Rubio: Despite Court Decision, ObamaCare Must Go," rubio.senate.gov, June 25, 2015
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