Joe Biden on Thursday marked the 13th anniversary of “Obamacare,” a reform of America’s healthcare system that he said has “changed America” but is threatened by Republicans.
The Democratic president hints at what one of his campaign themes might be if a new candidacy is confirmed and ensures he works to further reduce healthcare costs in the United States, which are much higher than many others industrialized countries.
But the reform passed under Barack Obama is in the sights of Trumpist Republicans, the White House’s Mr. Biden denounced, and such a repeal of the Affordable Care Act “would have a devastating impact on Americans,” he warned.
Since its narrow passage through Congress in 2010, Republicans have tried unsuccessfully to return to the text several times.
With Barack Obama, whose vice president he was, “we made history,” the president said again, adding, “We took another big step toward one of the principles that we as Democrats and as Americans hold as fundamental principles — Health care is a right, not a privilege.”
“We’re not there yet (…), let’s finish the work,” he began, picking up a sentence that now constellates his speeches, which seem to be geared more and more to the next election deadline – the 2024 presidential election.
The Democrat directly attacked Republicans, who he said were dominated by supporters of former President Donald Trump. The party is no longer “your father’s Republican Party,” he lamented.
Joe Biden also pointed out that they had opposed the big health funding that voted in the huge piece of legislation passed in the summer of 2022, the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).