Obamacare: The Untold Story of the 2016 Election

November 9, 2016 — by Per Christensson

It actually happened. Donald Trump has been elected President of the United States.

Not too many saw this coming, including myself. Millions of people in America and around the world were glued to their TVs, computers, and smartphones wondering, Is this actually happening?

Nearly every political analyst predicted a Hillary Clinton victory. Many of them were confident the election wouldn't even be close. But it was close. And Trump won. The smartest people in news got it wrong.

So why did Donald Trump win? Was it because Americans are frustrated with the establishment (the current government)? Do they not trust Hillary? Or do US citizens simply want a leader who is not politically correct? These are all reasons people voted for Trump, but they had already been factored into the polls. So what made the difference? I have a theory — and it revolves around one word: Obamacare.

In the weeks preceding the election, millions of people in the United States saw their health insurance premiums skyrocket. Many people, including myself, received letters from our insurance companies saying our 2017 premiums are going to increase over 50% from 2016. Combined with double digit increases over the past several years, US residents are being forced to pay monthly premiums that have more than doubled since the Affordable Health Care Act — also known as Obamacare — was passed. Plus deductibles have gone up and health plans cover less expenses. Most Americans are spending thousands of dollars more per year for less health coverage than they had before the bill was passed. The name "Affordable Health Care Act" is insulting.

Americans are well aware that Democrats are responsible for Obamacare (the name kind of gives it away). It has been one of the most poorly implemented plans ever instituted by the United States government. While the intentions of the bill's authors may have been noble, they forgot to pay attention to one very important economic principle — supply and demand. Healthcare costs were already running out of control and the Affordable Health Care Act did nothing to address the financial problems. Instead it exacerbated them.

I think Obamacare is the untold story of the 2016 election. People who are outraged with their healthcare expenses may have given Trump the votes he needed to win.