Over 80% of Obamacare enrollees live in pro-Trump states

One of the driving narratives of Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign was the repeal of Obamacare. Now it turns out that more than 4 in 5 of people who signed for coverage live in states that carried Trump in his surge to the White House, according to the Associated Press.

From the AP:

An Associated Press analysis of new figures from the government found that 7.3 million of the 8.8 million consumers signed up so far for next year come from states Trump won in the 2016 presidential election. The four states with the highest number of sign-ups — Florida, Texas, North Carolina and Georgia, accounting for nearly 3.9 million customers — were all Trump states.

AP’s analysis found that 11 states beat 2017’s enrollment figures. Of them, eight — Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming — went for Trump, who posted double-digit victories in all but Iowa.

To be sure, Trump states are also home to many people who voted for Democrat Hillary Clinton. But the AP’s analysis points to a pattern of benefits from the health law in states the president won. The premium dollars have economic ripple effects, reimbursing hospitals and doctors for services that might otherwise have gone unpaid and written off as bad debt. Also, people with health insurance are better able to manage chronic medical problems, remaining productive, tax-paying members of society.

Such economic and political realities will be in the background when Congress returns in January to another installment of the nation’s long-running debate over health care. Republicans and Democrats seem to have battled to a draw for now.

“There’s politics, and then there’s taking care of yourself and your family,” healthcare analyst Chris Sloan told the AP. “You can have political views about a program like the Affordable Care Act, but when you get an opportunity to get subsidized health insurance for you and your family … politics is a distant consideration.”

[Snopes.com] Featured image via Jack Phil (Flickr)

 

Sky Palma

Before launching DeadState back in 2012, Sky Palma has been blogging about politics, social issues and religion for over a decade. He lives in Los Angeles and also enjoys Brazilian jiu jitsu, chess, music and art.