Will Obamacare Withstand Republican Blackmail?

“As long as I am president, I will not give in to reckless demands by some in the Republican Party to deny affordable health insurance to millions of hard-working Americans … I’m not going to allow anybody to drag the good name of the United States of America through the mud.” For the first time since becoming president, Obama has raised the tone, saying no to the continued Republican attempts to cancel his health reform.

The “blackmail” is playing on the need to raise the U.S. debt ceiling in the next few days to avoid the country facing disastrous consequences. “Obamacare” has always been at the center of the debate. It came into law March 23, 2010 and from October 1 will be taking its last steps toward its definitive start on Jan. 1, 2014. Starting Tuesday, the beginning of the new American fiscal year, the 48 million citizens without health coverage can begin to be enroll in the “health insurance marketplace,” the proposed plan of buying an insurance policy at low cost and of obtaining government assistance in case of low income. About 100 million people, especially children and young people between the ages of 18 and 23, have been able to enjoy the limited benefits of the health reform which, over the next few months, will become something that, by 2022, should reduce the percentage of Americans without assistance to zero.

As it says on the White House website, something big is going to happen. The price lists will soon be ready to help people understand what the insurance premiums for the less wealthy and numerous low-income families will be. It is also clear that the more the benefits of the reform become evident, the more Americans’ support for the president should grow. It’s inevitable that Republicans are using the reform as a bargaining chip to support raising the debt ceiling. Obama, however, is putting his foot down: On Tuesday, anyone who is able to enroll in the desired plan and can pay the first installment no later than Dec. 14 will be insured by Jan. 1. Anyone registering between January and March 2014 (the deadline is March 31) will see their coverage starting from the month following the payment of the first installment.