GOP officials keep insisting that the Affordable Care Act is a disaster. The American mainstream clearly disagrees.
Republicans’ health care problem #1: They have no idea what to do about health care
Republicans’ health care problem #2: They’re about to be blamed for massive price increases
Republicans’ health care problem #3: The ACA keeps becoming more popular, despite GOP smears
www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...
— Steve Benen (@stevebenen.com) 2025-12-09T17:19:48.888Z
https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/acas-popularity-reaches-new-heights-as-republicans-struggle-with-health-care-policy
Part of the foundational problem for Republicans is that they continue to hate the ACA, which they’ve long referred to as “Obamacare.” As recently as Monday, Donald Trump insisted that the reform law is “so bad.” A week earlier, the president similarly condemned the existing system as “a disaster.” Countless GOP officials have pushed similar rhetoric, not just in recent days, but for the last 15 years.
This creates an obvious dilemma for Republican officials: They don’t want to use subsidies to bolster a law that they hate, but if they don’t, consumers will blame them for failing to do the right thing for the American people.
And even though Trump and his party see the ACA as a disaster, much of the country apparently disagrees. Consider the latest national polling report from Gallup:
Americans’ approval of the 2010 Affordable Care Act has edged up to a new high of 57% as the clock ticks down to Dec. 31, when enhanced healthcare subsidies enacted during the pandemic are set to expire unless Congress takes action.
Gallup has tracked Americans’ approval of the ACA since November 2012, and the latest rating is up three percentage points from last year’s, which was similar to the previous 55% high recorded in April 2017 and in November 2020.
...In theory, Republicans might see this, worry about a public backlash and move quickly to protect consumers ahead of this month’s looming deadline. In practice, GOP leaders don’t want to, regardless of the ACA’s growing public support. Tick tock.
= new reply since forum marked as read
