The CBO on Monday said that ObamaCare will cost $104 billion less in subsidies than projected over the next decade. Obamacare’s lower-than-expected costs will come largely because premiums will be cheaper than previously thought. Republicans in Washington had no immediate response to the news. So far, more than 7.5 million Americans have signed up for ObamaCare. The three GOP Senate candidates in Alaska—Joe Miller, Dan Sullivan and Mead Treadwell—have all vowed that they would work to repeal that law if they were elected. None have said what they would do with those who have signed up or with the many more millions of citizens who work for small businesses that don’t provide health care, or those with preexisting conditions who have been denied insurance benefits.
The ACA is anything but perfect and has several sections that are really good public policy. The news of the progran’s cost is significantly less than expected. For the first time, people with pre-existing conditions can get insurance coverage. It’s time that the politicians quit the rhetoric of repeal and start talking about ways to improve the legislation.