On Monday, Bill Clinton took a moment during a campaign stop for Hillary to give his two cents about the current state of health care. Bill was on hand at a rally in Flint, Michigan and criticized Obamacare. Among other things, he believes that President Obama’s signature policy reform has caused the market to become overcrowded.
He specifically criticized how the Affordable Care Act flooded the health care insurance market, causing premiums to increase for middle-class citizens who are not able to qualify for subsidies. Bill’s comments may seem unusual, as he and Hillary unsuccessfully tried to overhaul health care while he was in office. The former president went on to say that a system such as Obamacare just “doesn’t work” in the U.S.:
“So you’ve got this crazy system where all of a sudden 25 million more people have health care and then the people who are out there busting it, sometimes 60 hours a week, wind up with their premiums doubled and their coverage cut in half. It’s the craziest thing in the world.”
While he admitted a crowded marketplace might not be the best route to go, he did plug his wife’s plan to allow citizens without access to subsidies to be able to buy into Medicaid and Medicare. But he said the current plan is hurting those who can’t obtain subsidies:
“On the other hand, the current system works fine if you’re eligible for Medicaid, if you’re a lower-income working person; if you’re already on Medicare, or if you get enough subsidies on a modest income that you can afford your health care. But the people that are getting killed in this deal are small business people and individuals who make just a little too much to get any of these subsidies.”
This is not the first time Bill has been critical of the Obama-backed health care law. The Hill points to an interview in 2011 where he said the laws could use some fine tuning, and the Supreme Court could strike them down at any time. Obamacare has seen its struggles, but there are signs of success. In September, the number of uninsured Americans has dropped to a record low. The Obama administration has yet to address Bill’s comments, but Obama remains open to changing aspects of the Affordable Care Act.
