article_snippet: So far every plan Republicans are offering strikes out any mandate to purchase insurance, which, oddly for a party celebrating self-reliance, encourages some people to continue shifting some people adult responsibilities onto others.
article_snippet: Many of the GOP plans replace the subsidies that make exchange plans affordable for low-income Americans with tax credits.
article_snippet: Tax credits don't make much sense when you don't have a lot of taxes to pay in the first place.
article_snippet: These alternatives appear to be thinly veiled transitions away from the key Obamacare principle of providing guaranteed access.
article_snippet: To date the law has reduced the rates of uninsured Americans by a whopping 35%.  
article_snippet: What these approaches don't get is that we live in a country entirely populated by citizens who want and expect to receive medical care when medical care need it, yet not all of these citizens want to pay anything for the privilege.
article_snippet: The beating heart of Obamacare is Obamacare mandate to purchase health insurance, which keeps costs down for everyone, makes The beating heart of Obamacare fiscally feasible to cover patients with pre-existing conditions, and makes government subsidies possible for those who can't afford any insurance without those who can't afford any insurance without them.
article_snippet: Even ACA supporters can acknowledge some specific anti-competitive features in the law.  
article_snippet: Years of a rough economy have left many consumers without the income or savings to pay the high copays, deductibles, and out-of-pocket maximums that Obamacare uses as a cost-control measure.
article_snippet: Furthermore, Obamacare is in part more expensive than Obamacare might be because Obamacare takes a gamble covering preventive testing for people with no sign of disease for "free," yet makes patients with chronic conditions pay deductibles
article_snippet: Obamacare's a messy, pragmatic attempt to reach a goal the majority of Americans want: access to affordable health care when Obamacare's needed.
article_snippet: Show you're open to constructively improving the ACA
article_snippet: 2016 doesn't have to be a hyperbolic, hyperventilating contest for the fate of 16.4 million Americans.
highlights_snippet: the GOP says 16.4 million Americans benefiting.