Indiana Republicans wanted to know how Obamacare has been a disaster. They didn’t get what they wanted.
An Indiana Republican Party’s Facebook post requesting “horror stories” surrounding the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has provided some unexpected results.
As of this story’s publication, the majority of the 5,500-plus comments are stories about how the ACA has changed their lives...for the better. Since the Indianapolis Star wrote about the post, it has gone viral. It has been shared more than 4,000 times.
Many posters said they are able to afford health insurance for the first time in their lives - as adults after years of being uninsured.
One mentioned receiving benefits, thinking they wouldn’t pay off. The next day, a loved one suffered a broken wrist.
Others have started businesses now that they can afford healthcare. Many have loved ones with terminal illnesses that would have been impossible to pay for without health insurance.
A favorite :
Before Obamacare, no employer I worked for would carry insurance, and working two jobs I couldn’t afford insurance on the open market. After Democrats pushed ACA through, I could get affordable coverage. In Valentine’s Day 2016, my wife was rushed into the emergency room. A previously undiagnosed hernia was killing her small intestines, and her. Doctors gave her a 1% chance of recovery, but she survived against all odds. The hospital bill was over $100,000. Insurance covered all but $200. Before ACA, this would have bankrupted us. Obamacare saved our family.
Several posters noted the bill isn’t perfect but laid blame at insurance companies, along with state and federal government strong-arm tactics regarding Medicaid expansion.
Some have posted “horror stories.” If the ACA is repealed, they’d lose their only avenue for health care.
Several people believed their increase in premiums was due to the ACA. Others are convinced that the positive comments were fake, but the sheer variety and number of the comments with very personal details show authenticity.
From broken limbs and brain tumors, from shots to screenings, this one Facebook post captures the constant and massive need for quality health care that a generic statistic from the Congressional Budget Office showing “millions losing health care” can’t quite describe.
It’s tough to know why a post like this would be created in the first place or at least deleted. Maybe they were overzealous after a previous post on hosting the 2018 Republican National Convention?
