Obamacare Is Becoming a Big Problem for Democrats
Democrats based much of their 2020 campaign on support for the Affordable Care Act. But the law has become less popular as the pandemic has exposed its flaws while continuing to enrich insurance companies.

Joe Biden delivers remarks about the Affordable Care Act and COVID-19 on October 28, 2020 in Wilmington, Delaware. (Drew Angerer / Getty Images)
During a combative Democratic House caucus call on Thursday, House majority whip Jim Clyburn warned that Democrats won’t win the two potential Georgia Senate races if the party’s candidates run on “socialized medicine” — even as new polling from Georgia shows that way more voters want access to a government-run health care plan than the status quo.
The disconnect between Democratic leaders’ views and reality spotlights a growing political problem: Democrats focused their 2020 election message on support for Obamacare and bashing Medicare for All, but the electorate isn’t very enthusiastic about an Affordable Care Act (ACA) that has failed to protect millions of people from a burgeoning health care crisis.
Similarly, Joe Biden is promising a presidency narrowly focused on strengthening the ACA and helping the insurance industry stop the push for Medicare for All. Those pledges have likely helped boost health care stocks since the election — but more and more data shows the ACA is not particularly popular among voters who’ve seen insurers make huge profits while millions have lost coverage.