Obamacare Is All the More Essential During a Pandemic

Obamacare is cushioning the fall for many Americans who have lost their health insurance, along with their jobs, in the coronavirus pandemic. Millions of the newly unemployed are eligible for premium subsidies if they buy individual policies on the marketplaces created under the Affordable Care Act. Millions more are eligible for Medicaid, which was expanded in most states under the ACA.

Thus, the law, now 10 years old, is demonstrating its ability to protect families during an economic crisis. Americans have grown fond of some of its other virtues as well — including provisions that require insurers to cover people with pre-existing health problems, not limit the amount of coverage they provide over a lifetime and allow young adults to remain on their parents’ policies until they turn 26.