The Affordable Care Act was never affordable

Democrats are rapidly digging themselves into a deep hole.

Their battle cry during the Chuck Schumer shutdown is that they are determined to get another $400 billion of taxpayers’ money to subsidize a Biden administration, COVID-era health insurance subsidy – and they’ll hold the whole government hostage for it.

Their polling must show that, on the surface, this battle cry works. People care about health and health care. They see it as a moral issue in which helping people survive outweighs money.

However, the heart of the Democrats’ argument is that the Affordable Care Act is simply not affordable.

In fact, the Affordable Care Act simply distorted an already unsustainable system. It pumped more money into insurance companies, so hospitals and insurance companies could charge more for medical services and coverage. The Affordable Care Act inflated health care costs – and the burden of those costs on government, employers, and every working American.

Just pay attention to who is buying the ads supporting the increased subsidies. It’s the insurance companies, big hospitals, and their powerful lobbyists. In effect, they are taking our tax dollars to buy ads that demand that we give them more tax dollars.

In the process, the insurance companies become steadily more dependent on government and more exposed to red tape and regulation. This makes our health system less innovative, competitive, cost-conscious, and affordable. At the same time, the quality of care and service diminishes.

Republicans should take note: A successful governing conservatism does not make the American people pay for past policy mistakes. Millions of Americans have been drawn into a taxpayer-subsidized system that is unsustainable. Nancy Pelosi’s Congress, Harry Reid’s Senate, and Barack Obama’s White House made this mistake – not Republicans or American taxpayers.

The challenge for conservatives – after the government is reopened – is to find a more competitive, innovative, and affordable health system that doesn’t harm people who have been hoodwinked and victimized by the left’s terrible decisions.

There are effective reforms that improve care and coverage – and encourage less expensive, more competitive health delivery. These can create greater security and convenience for Americans – and fewer worries.

A Republican reform bill should deal head-on with the Democrats’ COVID-19 health insurance payoff disaster. It should protect Americans and combine a series of reforms that improve health outcomes and lower costs. It would be a powerful response to the Schumer shutdown propaganda campaign. If done properly, a Republican bill should increase access to quality health care – and reduce spending.

It would be a grand irony if the Schumer shutdown strategy ultimately led to a smaller government with a freer, more competitive, and more effective health system. It would be much better for Americans than the $400 billion Band-Aid Democrats are trying to slap on Obamacare.

Further, if the Republican reform bill included a two-to-four-year solution for the Democrats’ COVID health insurance subsidy, how could the Democrats vote against it? It has been the centerpiece of their propaganda campaign.

“When the smog clears from this first government shutdown in seven years, there will be ownership. Either a chastened Democratic Party will own the embarrassment of a foolhardy closure, or an outfoxed Republican Party will own the 15-year-old unreformed calamity known as ObamaCare…

“Just as important, they need to decide to begin the serious project of reforming ObamaCare, or give in and take possession of it. The moment for that decision looks to be now.”

Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries have set up the right challenge for Republicans.

We must not – and will not – abandon the American people. We must not make them suffer because of the Democrats’ bad decisions in irresponsibly expanding big government health care subsidies and creating a deficit and debt-based health system. Its cost will crush the country over time.

We can develop a path to a better, affordable, more effective health system – and a reduced deficit.

President Donald J. Trump and the Republican Congress can turn away from the Democrats’ approach of more spending, bigger bureaucracy, and deeper deficits. With real reforms, they can better serve the American people – for a lot less cost.

This is the next great challenge for President Trump and Republicans – and they will meet it.

The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Daily Caller News Foundation.