to the editor: Business columnist Michael Hiltzik claims that Republicans have tried to kill Obamacare “without offering a convincing explanation why” (“Republicans don't have a health care plan, just a plan to end Obamacare.” December 17). But guess what? Demands to subsidize skyrocketing premiums are de facto proof that Obamacare has failed. What more do we need to declare it unaffordable and in need of a radical overhaul or replacement?
He American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 and Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 He extended the subsidies through 2025 and they expire now. Cries to spend billions more to keep Obamacare alive demonstrate that moving forward is unsustainable. The old saying “good money after bad” has never been more relevant.
When making an objective, nonpartisan, fact-based assessment of the future of Obamacare funding, there can be no stronger case for “killing” it than the current crisis. The column selects some facts and studies that would excuse the period prior to its current disappearance, without mentioning alternative proposals.
Hiltzik ignores the tens of billions of dollars The feds pay to enable state programs. California's Medicaid program has been challenged with recent high profile cuts to its federal funding. Behind these omissions, it offers no solution for people who will “vote with their feet” when the insurance premium shock hits.
Raymond Roth, Oceanside
..
to the editor: From the beginning, the ACA was a good idea, but it was poorly designed and completely underfunded.
Unfortunately, the legislative branch of our government doesn't seem to care, and the Los Angeles Times would apparently rather attack Republicans than offer solutions to the problem.
If we are going to be honest, we must admit that our entire healthcare system is poorly designed and underfunded. For years, the annual report of the Trustees for Social Security and Medicare has recommended that “legislators address projected trust fund shortfalls in a timely manner to phase in necessary changes and give workers and beneficiaries time to adjust to them.” Perhaps, if members of Congress had the same health care as the rest of us, they would consider this a more urgent problem.
Until Congress decides to take on the entirety of our healthcare system, I have little to no hope.
Kevin Minihan, Westchester
