Should you still sign up for Obamacare? The president says yes for these 3 reasons.
The future of the Affordable Care Act — aka "Obamacare" — remains uncertain. The Los Angeles Times reported that President-elect Donald Trump and several congressional Republicans are hell-bent on eliminating large parts of the Affordable Care Act. Meanwhile, the U.S. population is deeply divided on their views regarding the 2010 health reform law, according to a recent poll conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation.
However, several organizations and conservative activists support Obamacare. The American Cancer Society Network, for example, issued a letter to Congress asking not to repeal large parts of the Affordable Care Act. Conservative experts from the American Enterprise Institute and the Goodman Institute have urged Republicans to reconsider their position, as hundreds of thousands of Americans could be left uninsured as a result.
Such support may be a sign of relief for President Barack Obama, who called Obamacare one of "his favorite subjects" during a sit-down interview with The Daily Show host Trevor Noah on Monday. When Noah told him that one of the Obamacare's major deadlines is drawing near, President Obama looked into the camera and urged viewers to go to healthcare.gov and sign up to get insurance for the following reasons:
1. Insurance for a year beats no insurance for a year
Noah told President Obama that many people are still wondering about the need to join Obamacare, considering Trump is taking office. "President Obama, you asking me to sign up, it's like the CEO of Vine telling me to join now. What's the point if the incoming administration says they're getting rid of it?" said Noah. Obama said it's better to have insurance for a year than not having any at all.
2. Financial benefits
President Obama added that "for the majority of people, when they include tax credits that they may be eligible for, they can get health insurance for 75 bucks a month, which is cheaper than their cell phone or their cable coverage in some cases." Having insurance will "protect you against an accident, a major illness," President Obama added. "It could end up saving your home, or your bank account or your pension — and it will give you peace of mind."
3. Health care protections
Obama underscored some of the most popular measures of Obamacare, including how it brought the level of uninsured people in the U.S. down to its lowest level in history. According to Obama, people with preexisting conditions cannot be denied health insurance, children can stay under their parents' health insurance until they reach 26, and women cannot be discriminated against or charged more just because they're women.
Obama admitted, however, that the health care reform law was comprised of "the best ideas at the time," therefore several "tweaks" can be made to the program, such as a public option in places where there is not enough competition among insurers, or more subsidies for cheaper insurance plans.
The interview can be watched in full here.
