As the implementation of the Affordable Care Act continues, so
does the political backlash associated with the downfalls of the act. Barbara Boxer has been weighing in on the push
back from Republicans this week, making a twelve minute speech both asserting
the benefits of the Act, and defending it from GOP members who have been
attacking the mandate of the act, and the fact that Americans have not been
able to keep their healthcare plans. She
cited the 3 million young adults that have gained coverage under the act, and the
71 million Americans that are benefitting from “free preventative care like
check-ups, birth-control immunizations…17 million kids with pre-existing
conditions like asthma and diabetes can no longer be denied coverage.”[1]
She compared the number of Americans
signing up for the Affordable Care Act to the number of citizens in Massachusetts
that signed up for healthcare under the program put into effect under Mitt
Romney in order to express the success of the program. She stated that the Affordable Care Act numbers
were four times better relatively compared to the number in Massachusetts and
were inexplicitly based on Massachusetts’ “Republican Plan. [2]
Her statements come only a day after California released their numbers
regarding those who have already signed up, and those who are already in the
process of signing up for Covered California and Medicaid – a number totaling over
370,000.[3]
Boxer
goes ahead and uses herself as an example of a Californian in the process of
shopping for a plan through the exchange in order to explain why there exists a
large gap between those who have bought plans, and those who have only signed
up to shop for plans. [4]
Both Press Releases were linked through her Twitter Account,
which has been increasing in activity this past week due not only to Boxer’s involvement
in defending healthcare, but her support on a variety of social issues including
MJIA regarding sexual assault in the military, relief for survivors of the Typhoons
in the Philippines, and discrimination regarding the Congressional ENDA vote
directed at House Speaker Boehner. [5]
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