Wall Street Journal Editorial Board Blasts Trump’s Confused and Failed Effort to Replace Obamacare

The conservative-minded Editorial Board at the Wall Street Journal has clarified that they are not fans of Donald Trump. They are also likely delighted that the former president keeps giving them opportunities to explicitly point out why they feel Trump is incompetent or not an ideal candidate to return to the White House.

In a column titled “Biden, Trump and Obamacare,” published Thursday morning, the WSJ opinion editors discuss the issue of ObamaCare Trump brought up recently; the subtitle reads, “Democrats distort the issue, but the GOP offers no alternative.”

It’s a thoughtful piece that adequately covers the limitations of the Affordable Care Act in a way that praises its good parts (namely the extended coverage to millions )and flaws (increased costs and profits to private insurance providers.) It’s a stunning evolution from the Tea Party rally cries of 2010 that repeatedly insisted that Obamacare would immediately lead to an economic depression not seen since the 1930s, which has proven to be way off the mark.

But the most interesting target is Trump, who on Wednesday re-upped his old harangue against Obamacare, which he long has promised to replace with something “much better” but failed to do anything about in his four years in office. On Wednesday morning, Trump went over some familiar territory when he again slammed Obamacare and promised a better health care plan. Trump wrote:

Getting much better Healthcare than Obamacare for the American people will be a priority of the Trump Administration. It is not a matter of cost, it is a matter of HEALTH. America will have one of the best Healthcare Plans anywhere in the world. Right now it has one of the WORST!

…

I don’t want to terminate Obamacare, I want to REPLACE IT with MUCH BETTER HEALTHCARE. Obamacare Sucks!!!

So Trump curiously raised this issue, which does not paint his ability to keep promises or accomplish what he intended in a favorable light. Which the Wall Street Journal Editorial Board was eager to point out.

Recall that Republicans failed to repeal and replace ObamaCare in 2017 despite controlling both houses of Congress. John McCain’s opposition ultimately killed the GOP’s last reform bill, but Mr. Trump’s unwillingness to understand the policy arguments was the bigger problem. His inability to marshal a case to rally public opinion contributed to its failure and the GOP’s losses in the midterms.

Democrats are again making false claims about ObamaCare that Mr. Trump and Republicans seem incapable of refuting. Mr. Trump later attempted to clarify that he merely wants to “replace” ObamaCare with “MUCH BETTER HEALTHCARE,” though he again missed the mark by suggesting that other countries’ socialized health systems are superior to America’s private care.

Trump’s “unwillingness to understand the policy arguments was the bigger problem” than McCain’s famous thumbs down vote that killed congressional action to repeal Obamacare, says the conservative opinion outlet. They double down by calling out “Trump’s inability to marshal a case to rally public opinion,” which is also an issue.

The piece included the benefits and costs of the ACA:

The reality is that ObamaCare has increased healthcare costs while producing few tangible benefits for patients. As we recently pointed out, the law’s de facto profit cap has driven industry consolidation, resulting in higher costs for patients and taxpayers. Insurers have pocketed subsidies while increasing premiums and deductibles.

The share of Americans with insurance increased by about five percentage-points in the six years after the law’s Medicaid expansion and health exchanges took effect. This resulted in about 17 million Americans gaining health coverage. But most newly insured are young, healthy adults on Medicaid. They could have afforded “skinny” plans more appropriate for their age and health risks, but the Biden Administration is restricting those plans.

And there we have it. Trump’s re-upping his old Obamacare sucks! campaign chestnut from yesterdecade ended up soliciting ridicule from a once supportive media ally.