I will briefly interrupt myself banging my head against the wall (ooooh . . . . . that feels good) to make a brief point.
The ACA will bring down the Democrats in 2016.
Kaiser Health Tracking Poll:Exploring The Public's View On The Affordable Care Act
Not because it's not helping millions of people, not because it's not driving down costs, not because it's not freeing people from the fear of medically induced bankruptcy, not because it's not freeing dollars to go into the general economy, and most importantly, not because it's not saving lives. The ACA is actually doing all those things.
But people don't know it. Most importantly, even now, at this late date, they do not know how it can specifically help THEM.
Most people in this country are ignorant about how the ACA actually works and how the subsidies function. Even people right here on this very website don't know that affordable healthcare is right around the corner for them and that they CAN afford it -
Exhibit A:
Note: Exhibit A has been removed since I linked to the wrong diary. While I rummage around looking for the correct diary, I will describe it to you: A Kossack wrote that sadly, they were not helped by the ACA. Long story short - they thought that the subsidy was a tax credit that was refunded but that you had to pay the full premium upfront. They were delighted to find out that they were mistaken and most likely WOULD be able to get affordable healthcare through their state exchange.
Exhibit B:
That poor lady who let herself be used as the Poster Girl for Bad Obamacare who would have actually saved money with an exchange policy:
Koch Bros Fake Obamacare Victim, etc.
Exhibit C:
My husband's co-workers
My husband is employed at a small business that does not offer group health to it's employees. My husband has made an effort to personally inform people about the ACA and the lack of knowlege and understanding about the program is shocking.
Many of these folks work 2 jobs to make ends meet. They don't blog, they don't read newspapers, they WORK. Many of them have kids and they do use the emergency room as their doctor of last resort. Most of them would qualify as having enough income to qualify for subsidies substantial enough to almost entirely lift the burden of the premiums and they would welcome a passport to the world of preventive health.
Believe it or not, most of them have a poor impression of the ACA based mostly on negative political ads and they have not bothered to investigate further. BECAUSE our side has done an absolutely pathetic job of informing average Americans about the ACA and what's in it for them. My husband's co-workers are not stupid, but they are ignorant about the ACA.
The anti-ACA Republican crowd is bludgeoning the program like it's a helpless baby seal and the administration and the Dems stand by and wring their hands ineffectively. Or, they whimper, "It's mostly good and we can fix it" before trailing off into silence and incoherence. Yes, it's nice that the President appeared on "Between Two Ferns" as the enrollment period is about to end to reach out to the Young Invincibles, but that is not enough.
Unless we want to be steamrolled over a fake, non-existent issue (Bad Bad ACA) in the upcoming midterms, the Administration and the Dems need to mount a large, strong, comprehensive INFORMATION program about the ACA that goes out to every single American household THROUGH THE MAIL.
Yes, my friends, the mail. That one institution that serves almost every single American no matter where they live. The one that slogs through snow, sleet, rain and dark of night to deliver Val Paks to each and every one of us.
I am literally begging the Department of HHS to do what it should have done a long time ago - send out a comprehensive, simple, easy to read, pamphlet WITH AN APPLICATION to all Americans. It should have simple tables with average incomes and subsidies at each level. Maybe an intern at HHS could stuff inserts with state specific plans and costs.
Imagine Harry and Gertrude in Anytown,Anywhere saying to each other "Durn, looks like we can get coverage for us and little Orville for $100 a month."
Imagine someone in Rick Perry's Texas finding out THE TRUTH about how they can get affordable coverage.
Is it too much for me to expect TPTB to inform the American public about the reality of the ACA? Didn't they manage to make every single young man turning 18 aware of their responsibilities back in the day when we had a draft? Don't they manage to let every single American know what their projected Social Security payment is? They did and do those things through the mail.
The 2016 future of the ACA and perhaps the country depends on our sleeping bureaucrats and legislators to GET THE WORD OUT.
Open Enrollment is about to end. (Why isn't the ACA always on open enrollment? What's up with that?)
BUT people will still be able to enroll this year if they have a "qualifying event" like: marriage, divorce, birth or job loss. I will bet you dollars to donuts that most people don't know that.
The mailer campaign MUST begin before Open Enrollment starts again in 2015.
Thank you for reading. I will resume head banging as I watch negative ACA ads until I get my ACA mailer.