Today is the 13th Anniversary of the Affordable Care Act. Passed in 2010 and signed by President Obama 13 years ago, the ACA is designed to end health freedom as we know it. It was designed as a wealth redistribution scheme. After final passage in Congress, U.S. Senator Max Baucus (D-MT), Chair of the Senate Finance Committee, said on camera about the ACA:
“This is also an income shift. It’s a shift to leveling to help lower income, middle income Americans . . . The last couple three years, the maldistribution of income in America has gone up way too much. The wealthy are getting way, way too wealthy and the middle-income class is left behind. Wages have not kept up with the increased income of the highest income of Americans. This legislation will have the effect of addressing that maldistribution of income in America because health care is now a right for all Americans and because health care is now affordable for all Americans.
Notably, in 2009, Senator Baucus registered a net worth of negative $40,000, according to TIME magazine, while Sen. John Kerry’s net worth was $167.55 million. Perhaps Senator Baucus had wealth envy—but what he didn’t have was the truth.
There was nothing affordable about health care after the ACA became law. Prices skyrocketed. Unless you got the boatload of subsidies paid for by taxpayers who were also paying higher and unaffordable premiums under this wealth redistribution scheme, most Americans experienced the following (and more) — none of which has been good for the middle class:
- PROHIBITED: Affordable medical indemnity insurance
- MANDATED: Qualified Health Plans with higher premiums and deductibles
- PENALTIES: Hospitals that readmit Medicare patients fined
- CONSOLIDATION: Health plans and hospitals created monopolies; bought physicians
- OBAMACARE: Government coverage available through government exchanges
- UNAFFORDABLE: Individual mandate to buy unaffordable coverage
- INCOME TAX: 3.8% tax on investment income
- SURVEILLANCE: Doctors, patients, insurance status, treatment, tracked
- BUREAUCRACY: ACA regulations are now stacked well over 8 feet high
- SOCIALISM: The mandate to cover pre-existing conditions eliminated true insurance.
The Republicans should have repealed the ACA when they had a chance in 2017 and 2018. In 2017, we created the following diagram to make this point. But too many Republican members offered “Obamacare Lite” bills and appeared too preoccupied with Donald Trump’s presidency.
They were also likely too indebted by the health plans, which received a 10-year “$1 trillion windfall” and the various health care industry partners that fund their campaigns.
CCHF isn’t waiting for or counting on the ACA ever being repealed. Instead, we’re building a PARALLEL system of health freedom, a cash-based, confidential, affordable, interference-free framework for health freedom in America. The WEDGE of Health Freedom® is the foundation. We just added more than 20 new practices in the last week, from across America.
Join with us as financial supporters of CCHF to restore health freedom and with it, a future of freedom for all Americans, young and old.
Securing with you a future of freedom, Twila Brase, RN, PHN
President and Co-founder
April is “Truth About HIPAA” Month!