During Thursday’s broadcast of NPR’s Morning Edition, Senator Chris Coons (D-DE) tried to defend Obamacare’s soaring costs — and ended up proving his critics’ point.
When pressed by co-host Steve Inskeep about why health insurance premiums continue to rise despite promises that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) would “hold down costs,” Coons insisted the law hasn’t failed. Inskeep noted that “Republicans have made an interesting point. They’ve said the tax credits are necessary for people to be able to afford health insurance because health insurance costs keep going up and up, because, they say, Obamacare is a failure. It failed to hold down costs, which is one of the goals.”
Coons pushed back, saying, “I don’t think it is a failure. I do think there [are] bipartisan things we could do to reduce healthcare costs, for example, PBR reform. But we need to work together, and we can’t do that only after Democrats agree to keep moving forward. Republicans are raising healthcare costs, and we need them to come to the table with a concrete path forward for avoiding that.”
That statement — claiming Republicans are the ones raising healthcare costs — is striking, given that the Affordable Care Act was passed exclusively by Democrats and has been controlled, expanded, and funded by them ever since. The reality is that Obamacare’s structural design has always depended on heavy federal subsidies and mounting taxpayer burdens to mask the true price of coverage. These “tax credits” Coons defended are simply another way of saying: Washington is using your tax dollars to make an unaffordable system appear affordable.
Since Obamacare’s passage, premiums have nearly doubled in many states, deductibles have skyrocketed, and private competition has diminished. For millions of middle-class Americans who don’t qualify for subsidies, healthcare coverage remains out of reach. Meanwhile, insurers thrive under a web of regulations that limit choice and protect corporate monopolies — the exact opposite of what was promised.
Coons’ call for “bipartisan cooperation” rings hollow when Democrats continue to push one-size-fits-all, government-driven healthcare while refusing to consider market-based reforms that empower individuals rather than bureaucracies. Conservatives have long argued that true reform should focus on price transparency, interstate competition, health savings accounts, and reduced federal mandates — all measures proven to lower costs without punishing taxpayers or eroding quality.
The Senator’s attempt to shift blame underscores the broader Democratic strategy: deflect responsibility for failed policies by accusing others of obstruction. But after more than a decade of rising premiums, shrinking networks, and growing taxpayer costs, Americans know who’s been running the show.
In the end, Obamacare didn’t hold down healthcare costs — it buried them under layers of subsidies, regulations, and political excuses.
