Obamacare has re-entered the chat. Nearly 15 years after then-President Barack Obama signed the Affordable Care Act into law, the political fight over the health care overhaul is flaring up again in the final stretch of the 2024 presidential race. Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up here to receive it weekdays. Vice President Kamala Harris has begun to lean in heavily on the issue, launching multiple ads this week vowing to protect the law, weaponizing former President Donald Trump’s ongoing calls to replace the ACA by arguing that he’d rip away subsidies to afford coverage and undo insurance regulations that protect pre-existing conditions. Trump won the 2016 election while campaigning on repealing Obamacare – which had long been used as a punching bag on the right – but the law gained popularity among the public after he tried to repeal it. Nevertheless, he has continued to criticize the law and says he still wants to replace it, but only if he devises a better program. He said in the Sept. 10 debate with Harris that he has “concepts of a plan,” but his campaign isn’t saying when he will release that proposal. Harris’ latest ad features a farmer with a brain tumor crediting Obamacare for saving her life and her farm. “Trump is coming for our health care. That's pretty damn scary,” the woman says to the camera. Also this week, Trump’s running mate, Sen. JD Vance, raised eyebrows by rewriting the history of Trump’s attempts to repeal Obamacare when he was president. “Donald Trump could’ve destroyed the program. Instead he worked in a bipartisan way to ensure that Americans had access to affordable care,” Vance said in Tuesday’s VP debate. Vance was wrong. As president, Trump fought to destroy the ACA through repeal legislation (which failed) that was projected to result in millions losing their coverage, through executive actions to weaken its insurance regulations and by asking the Supreme Court to wipe out the law entirely in 2020. Obamacare survived despite Trump’s efforts. Now, Harris wants to capitalize on the issue, as Democrats were able to do in the 2018 and 2020 elections. On Capitol Hill, many Republicans have sought to turn the page, seeing the Obamacare fight as a losing issue. But others are prepared to reopen it next year if they win the election. That includes Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., who is running to be the new No. 3 Senate GOP leader. Cotton told NBC News that he supports including a health care overhaul in major tax legislation that Congress is poised to consider next year, with much of the Trump tax cuts expiring at the end of 2025. Also expiring at the end of 2025: enhanced subsidies for Obamacare that limit premiums for many Americans to 8.5% of income, costing about $25 billion per year. Extending those subsidies is a priority for Harris and Democrats. The winners of the 2024 election will decide whether it happens. |