A new survey suggests that 6.6 million Americans under the age of 26 have taken advantage of a provision in the new health care law that allows them to join their parents' insurance plan. That's the largest ever one-year increase in coverage for the age group.For all of its disappointments, and we've documented many in the past, Obamacare does some extremely important things. Among them, letting kids under the age of 26 get on their parents' health insurance plans. (It also gets rid of pre-existing condition exclusions from coverage and annual limits on benefits, both huge changes.)
The problem for the Obama administration has been almost a fear of owning health care reform. Yes, a few months ago they finally tried to start touting the importance of the legislation. But not enough. They need to be out there every day telling people what they've already gained, and what they are going to lose, if Obamacare is overturned by the Supreme Court, or by the GOP congress and Mitt Romney.
Every time Mitt Romney talks about repealing Obamacare, he should be asked why he wants to take away health care from 6.6m kids, and why he wants to reinstitute pre-existing conditions, and annual limits on benefits.
The Republicans understand the way the game is played. If you repeat something enough, it becomes the truth. And its corollary, if you don't repeat the truth enough, it becomes a lie in the mind of the public.
The administration should own the stimulus and own Obamacare (and in my opinion, they ran from each before they were even passed). President Obama saved this country from another Great Depression, and he did some good things with Obamacare that on one realizes.
Democrats have for far too long permitted Republicans to lie about these achievements and convince the public that each was ineffective. The only way to turn around the lie is to tell the truth even louder and more often.
Why is our party so ineffective at messaging when so many of our activists excel at it?
