The ACA/Obamacare must be procedurally killed asap. This chart is horrifying:

Average US family health insurance premium...
1999: $6k
2003: $9k
2007: $12k
2011: $15k
2015: $18k
2019: $21k
2023: $24k
2025: $27k

That's a 365% increase since 1999 (6.1% per year).

(Note: US CPI inflation has increased 2.6%/year) pic.twitter.com/xgehY2a5xo

— Charlie Bilello (@charliebilello) October 23, 2025

On top of that - look at the MASSIVE growth in Healthcare industry size since 2000...... most of this is attributable to more and more Federal and State regulatory malaise:

This is nuts.

In 1990 healthcare wasn’t the top employer in any state

In 2024 it’s the top employer in 39 states

We are the united states of healthcare pic.twitter.com/n72Py3YBaO

— Carnivore Aurelius ©🥩 ☀️🦙 (@AlpacaAurelius) July 11, 2025

The Democrats/Left wanted this to happen so that they got enough people dependent on a partially federal/state run system..... so that when it became unsustainable... they could more easily pivot toward single payer federal system to a now larger population of people on Obamacare.... therefore making it more politically 'palatable'.

What a mess. John McCain's preservation of Obamacare was one of the worst acts of political cowardice, sabotage, and treachery in GOP history.

Spot the government intervention...

This needs to be run daily, nationally, daily for the next 6 months by the Republican party.

Thanks Democrats.

Need to flip the colors on the graph!

There were people with functioning brains who knew at the time this was forced on us that this would be the result.

Aging Boomer population probably accounts for some of this.

You mean to tell me that when you let a socialist loose in the market prices skyrocket? Shocking, but many of us told you so.

EVERYONE knew this would happen.

Name one other service/product, where adding government intervention has lowered price.
Then find me one other example where additional layers between the provider & consumer lowered price.
Now, find me one other example of reducing the revenue, but adding expenses lowered the price.

Lowering the price was an impossibility from the beginning. We all knew it, because it defied reality.

My company pays so much more, and gets so much less. We used to have so many more options...but the type of plans we used to choose are no longer available.

All that 'lower prices' and 'you can keep it if you like it' crap was such BS.

" And if you like your health care plan, you can keep it"

-Obummer

That's the dirty little secret of the gov't shutdown. When they try to blame the shutdown on R's refusing to come to the table on healthcare, R's need to remind the country about the monstrosity voted in by Dems under Obama.

Malpractice/liability fraudulent claims by all the ambulance chaser lawyers is a huge driver of this inflated cost. Same with not enforcing billing based on actual cost to both private and public insurance services. Its quite obvious when you ask for an itemized breakdown for any procedure from a provider for cash and then also for insurance and you get radically different costs that proves pretty much every provider artificially inflates the cost for every procedure billed through insurance. RFK jr has the right idea to want to force all provuders to post actual costs publicly upfront for all and then actually hold them to that cost if they bill above it.

Here's another one that did not infuriate enough folks.

"We have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it." -Pelosi

What is the solution? The GOP doesn't have one that wouldn't immediately result to massive loss of health insurance to millions. The result would be even more political instability---dare I say rising demands for single payer "socialist" solutions. Basic healthcare is good for us all and foundational for civil society. How we get there is the issue.

I like Mark Cubans ideas. I support anything that reduces the role of insurance companies. E.g., HSA accounts (realistically a mix of government/individual/employer contributions, doctors hospitals have prices upfront, etc.

I picked the HSA option at work mostly because the more traditional plans had too many hoops and denied most of the care I receive. HSA account gives me more freedom. Health insurance companies seem to only work to deny care, charge you more than market for care, make it impossible to use, etc.

FatZilla said:

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Malpractice/liability fraudulent claims by all the ambulance chaser lawyers is a huge driver of this inflated cost. Same with not enforcing billing based on actual cost to both private and public insurance services. Its quite obvious when you ask for an itemized breakdown for any procedure from a provider for cash and then also for insurance and you get radically different costs that proves pretty much every provider artificially inflates the cost for every procedure billed through insurance. RFK jr has the right idea to want to force all provuders to post actual costs publicly upfront for all and then actually hold them to that cost if they bill above it.

---

. I don't know about other states but in Texas med malpractice is not a lucrative business and hasn't been for a while.

went through 3 health providers after this went into effect AND the costs went up.

Even the Washington Post called out the Biden Administration for greatly expanding ACA income floors:

" Enhanced Premium Tax Credits (PTCs)established under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 and extended in the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022have temporarily expanded eligibility for lower health insurance premiums to Americans whose income exceeds 400% of the federal poverty level. The credits also reduce the maximum household contribution (resulting in larger subsidy amounts) at all eligible income levels through December 31, 2025.
With the enhanced PTCs set to expire at the end of 2025, Congress is considering whether to make them permanent, to extend them temporarily, or to allow them to expire…"
https://bipartisanpolicy.org/issue-brief/enhanced-premium-tax-credits-who-benefits-how-much-and-what-happens-next/#:~:text=Eligibility%20*%20Eligibility%20for%20premium%20assistance%20is,often%20referred%20to%20as%20the%20%E2%80%9Csubsidy%20cliff.%E2%80%9D

Tex100 said:

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FatZilla said:

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Malpractice/liability fraudulent claims by all the ambulance chaser lawyers is a huge driver of this inflated cost. Same with not enforcing billing based on actual cost to both private and public insurance services. Its quite obvious when you ask for an itemized breakdown for any procedure from a provider for cash and then also for insurance and you get radically different costs that proves pretty much every provider artificially inflates the cost for every procedure billed through insurance. RFK jr has the right idea to want to force all provuders to post actual costs publicly upfront for all and then actually hold them to that cost if they bill above it.

---

. I don't know about other states but in Texas med malpractice is not a lucrative business and hasn't been for a while.

---

Its nation wide since insurance companies can spread their cost across all states pretty much. When there is no reasonable cap to liability payments, costs continue to skyrocket. Even the most mundane things have idiot juries awarding millions in judgements against doctors/hospitals/insurance companies.

AgGrad99 said:

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EVERYONE knew this would happen.

Name one other service/product, where adding government intervention has lowered price.
Then find me one other example where additional layers between the provider & consumer lowered price.
Now, find me one other example of reducing the revenue, but adding expenses lowered the price.

Lowering the price was an impossibility from the beginning. We all knew it, because it defied reality.

My company pays so much more, and gets so much less. We used to have so many more options...but the type of plans we used to choose are no longer available.

All that 'lower prices' and 'you can keep it if you like it' crap was such BS.

---

"Everyone" except the idiot dem voters.

Yep. All by design. Just like their takeover of student loans. Making the government bigger so it consumes more and more.

It's terrible. If only Republicans had been able to control some parts of the government, this could've been averted. /s

Where is our good buddy Manhattan/KeithDB to refute this data?

And this is the real reason the Democrats won't end the shutdown, because without the subsidies the whole thing craters and the legacy of their messiah is ruined forever.

AgGrad99 said:

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My company pays so much more, and gets so much less. We used to have so many more options...but the type of plans we used to choose are no longer available.

All that 'lower prices' and 'you can keep it if you like it' crap was such BS.

---

I was part of an employee owned company back in 1994 until we went public in late 2000s. I distinctly remember the annual discussion and presentation how we shopped around for better alternatives every year for our health care plan costs. Those were the days.

Dems are holding the govt hostage so they can continue govt subsidies to try and salvage the failure we know as ACA, aka obama care.

shiftyandquick said:

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It's terrible. If only Republicans had been able to control some parts of the government, this could've been averted. /s

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You do realize democrats shut the government down to get this garbage passed in 2013. They went full on shut diwn as even national parks were closed. Spare me the "if only" bs. They tried.

TheEternalOptimist said:

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The Democrats/Left wanted this to happen so that they got enough people dependent on a partially federal/state run system..... so that when it became unsustainable... they could more easily pivot toward single payer federal system to a now larger population of people on Obamacare.... therefore making it more politically 'palatable'.

---

100% correct. The ACA was intentionally designed to accelerate private health insurance premiums and make it unaffordable so that American consumers would be open to a government sponsored single payer system.

G Martin 87 said:

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TheEternalOptimist said:

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The Democrats/Left wanted this to happen so that they got enough people dependent on a partially federal/state run system..... so that when it became unsustainable... they could more easily pivot toward single payer federal system to a now larger population of people on Obamacare.... therefore making it more politically 'palatable'.

---

100% correct. The ACA was intentionally designed to accelerate private health insurance premiums and make it unaffordable so that American consumers would be open to a government sponsored single payer system.

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Obama sold it as everyone deserves insurance, and if you didn't agree you were racist.

"Obama lied"

Pretty standard for him

And now he won't shut up.

Time for him to hush.

He's done enough damage to this country.

shiftyandquick said:

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It's terrible. If only Republicans had been able to control some parts of the government, this could've been averted. /s

---

You may recall John McCain, fake republican and garbage human and his thumbs down.

FatZilla said:

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Tex100 said:

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FatZilla said:

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Malpractice/liability fraudulent claims by all the ambulance chaser lawyers is a huge driver of this inflated cost. Same with not enforcing billing based on actual cost to both private and public insurance services. Its quite obvious when you ask for an itemized breakdown for any procedure from a provider for cash and then also for insurance and you get radically different costs that proves pretty much every provider artificially inflates the cost for every procedure billed through insurance. RFK jr has the right idea to want to force all provuders to post actual costs publicly upfront for all and then actually hold them to that cost if they bill above it.

---

. I don't know about other states but in Texas med malpractice is not a lucrative business and hasn't been for a while.

---

It's nation wide since insurance companies can spread their cost across all states pretty much. When there is no reasonable cap to liability payments, costs continue to skyrocket. Even the most mundane things have idiot juries awarding millions in judgements against doctors/hospitals/insurance companies.

---

. Again, I don't know about other states but there are caps in Texas

IslanderAg04 said:

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shiftyandquick said:

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It's terrible. If only Republicans had been able to control some parts of the government, this could've been averted. /s

---

You do realize democrats shut the government down to get this garbage passed in 2013. They went full on shut diwn as even national parks were closed. Spare me the "if only" bs. They tried.

---

No he doesn't realize that. Never let the facts get in the way of a good soundbyte.

annie88 said:

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"Obama lied"

Pretty standard for him

And now he won't shut up.

Time for him to hush.

He's done enough damage to this country.

---

My point wasn't as much about Obama as it was government in general in the marketplace.

Bush kicked off the unaffordability of higher ed and Obama turbocharged that.

Obama was the death knell of any semblance of affordable healthcare (the trend was bad before him).

The Fed buying mortgage backed securities during the GFC has sent housing prices to places they shouldn't be naturally this fast.

Juxtapose all of that against things like TVs, cars, cellphones, toys, household goods etc where there is very little intervention. Heck, but for CAFE standards, cars may be the lowest of that group with respect to inflation.

This is nuts.

In 1990 healthcare wasn’t the top employer in any state

In 2024 it’s the top employer in 39 states

We are the united states of healthcare pic.twitter.com/n72Py3YBaO

— Carnivore Aurelius ©🥩 ☀️🦙 (@AlpacaAurelius) July 11, 2025

This has to do with demographic changes not Obamacare