Summary
A Gallup poll shows 62% of Americans believe the government should ensure universal healthcare coverage—the highest support in over a decade.
While Democratic backing remains strong at 90%, support among Republicans and Independents has also grown since 2020.
Public frustration with the for-profit healthcare system has intensified following the arrest of a suspect in the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, reportedly motivated by anger at the industry.
Recent controversies, including Anthem’s rollback of anesthesia coverage cuts, and debates over Medicare privatization highlight ongoing dissatisfaction with the system.
I vote blue out of harm reduction, but don’t kid yourself.
The single greatest acheivement Democrats crow about was a healthcare band-aid originally conceived by the Heritage Foundation and instituted by a Republican governor designed to further enshrine private, for profit insurers like United Healthcare cut in as the entire point.
When the people screamed “Help us left wing from this for profit deathcare hell! Here’s a supermajority!” they protected the profit motive in what gets covered and declared victory.
They can make excuses, there’s always several, but as the decades go by and nothing changes, advocating patience starts to sound like “well just be patient, maybe my nepo great grandkids will magically decide to start being civil and equitable with your peasant great grandkids, lol.”
There is no planet on which UHC or anyone else wanted to be forced to cover patients with pre-existing conditions at anything resembling a reasonable cost.
Do I think Obama gave up way too much in negotiations? Absolutely. Do I think you’re a moron if you think this was “all part of private insurance’s master plan”? Absolutely.
There’s a reason Trump keeps talking about “replacing” Obamacare. And it’s not just his ego, private insurance wants it gutted.
For profit insurers absolutely did, because they did the math and knew the mandate would more than make up for the new rules, and it did, hence the ever rising profits since. I’m sure neoliberals and Republicans don’t see that as a problem because herp derp it’ll trickle down lol, but everyone else correctly does.
That was the supposed trade, but surprise surprise, for all the protections the ACA proponents claim it enshrines, they still find way to initially deny 1 out of 7 claims, and now some with AI.
Great deal, a larger captive customer base without a public option, and still denying swaths of claims using technicalities and loopholes their floors of attorneys never stopped working on in bad faith since. Because publicly traded companies never, ever operate in good faith towards their customers, there’s always an angle to goose earnings beyond what was overtly agreed to.
It helped some people, but it didn’t address the core problem of American Healthcare that makes it the most expensive on Earth with some of the worst outcomes in the developed world at all: the profit motive middleman dictating who gets what care instead of doctors. The more Americans who prepared for illness and paid them in good faith that they murder, the more gold in their pockets, to the applause of the profiteers on Wall Street.
I believe that was done as a compromised.