Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY), still rejecting Obamacare reality.
Republicans can, more or less, learn. Or they can at least drop one lie and switch to another. In this case, it's grudgingly admitting that lots of people got coverage under Obamacare now that there's no way they can plausibly deny otherwise. But while they may have to now accept that millions have coverage, now they're arguing that
Obamacare is bad coverage so it shouldn't really count.
Asked Sunday about his previous statement, Boehner said on NBC's "Meet the Press": "Yeah, you know why there's more people insured? Because a lot more people are on Medicaid.
"Giving people Medicaid insurance is almost like giving them nothing, because you can't find a doctor that will see Medicaid patients, Boehner added. "And so where do they end up? The same place they used to end up, in the emergency room."
Speaking on the Senate floor last week, Barrasso did not mention the number of people who have signed up; he instead focused on the caliber of the coverage, saying, "there is a difference between coverage and care."
When a Republican says "It's a fact," that's when you know they're being less than fully truthful. But it's actually kind of funny to hear a Republican use the argument that liberals have used for years to argue for single payer. No, coverage isn't the same as care, but it's not really true that the problem is as bad—or worse—under Obamacare than back in the bad old days. Even if you accept the false premise that most of the new enrollees have worthless Medicaid, Medicaid isn't worthless. Ask an expert. In this case, Rachel Garfield, senior researcher at the Kaiser Family Foundation, who says "On most measures, people with Medicaid fare about as well as people with private insurance, particularly with access to basic services. […] Where Medicaid has had some challenges is in access to specialty care."
How about the inability to find care? No, not so much according to a Commonwealth Fund survey. As of last July, 60 percent of people who had the new coverage—both private and Medicaid—said they'd already found and visited a doctor or gotten prescriptions filled and 75 percent said finding a doctor was easy. And 67 percent of them were able to get an appointment within two weeks. But only 58 percent were able to get an appointment with a specialist within two weeks. But wait! Cuz 58 percent is still a large majority.
Surely, though, people on Obamacare must hate it. Once again, no. Turns out, according to JD Powers and Associates, people with private plans on Obamacare like them better than people who have employer-sponsored coverage. Why? Because they have choice, and they feel like they're getting a good deal.
One more Obamacare lie, circling the drain. But hey, if they really are worried that there isn't enough access to care out there, maybe they should focus their "replacement plans" on making access better. Like that'll ever happen.