Commentary by K.E. Bell
What's the healthcare impact of the Big Beautiful Betrayal? I have first-hand knowledge.
In late December I looked into going on the Affordable Care Act – “Obamacare” -- after also getting a quote in July. Based on the numbers below, the effects of the bill weren’t factored in by last July.
July:
Based on an expected freelance income of about what I was making at my last job and choosing a plan that would include my doctor, my hospital, and my medications, I received the following quote. This is for a man in his late 50s without any serious health issues.
- $563 a month with a $7,500 deductible and a premium tax credit of $309 a month for a net of $254 a month, or $3,048 for the year.
December:
Same income, as well as the same doctor, hospital and medications.
- $966 a month premium with a $7,750 deductible and no premium tax credit, or $11,592 for the year.
The math says the government now wants me to pay an additional $8,544 per year. The premiums increase by 380% from what they were in July and the deductible goes up by $250.
This is in addition to a deductible that would grow by $5,750 versus the insurance from my job, so really the government wants to take another $14,294 out of my pocket annually.
I shared this information on Facebook, and commenters replied with several similar stories.
Here’s a sampling.
One friend in his early 60s who needs to carry insurance for himself and his wife, said “Just canceled our health insurance for 2026 - $497 [cost in 2025] --> $2,750 a month.”
Another friend who is a YouTuber in is late 20s replied, “Mine went from $545/mo. to $890/mo.” He appears to be the lucky one.
A couple, both freelancers in their 40s, noted their healthcare premiums will exceed their mortgage, going from about $660 to more than $1,600 per month.
These are only anecdotal examples, but it’s clear that the Big Beautiful Betrayal is going to screw anyone involved in the gig economy.
Elect Republicans, who have been trying to claw back Obamacare for years, and fend for yourself.
A couple of commenters on my post who lean right seemed to take it as granted that the ACA just can’t work. However, when a party sabotages something then says it's a disaster it's that party's fault.
Lost in the political bluster since the ACA passed in 2010 is the fact that it was based on a Republican idea, Romneycare, which went into effect in Massachusetts in 2006.
The individual mandate, which required people without another form of insurance to buy in or pay a fine, was originally an idea from The Heritage Foundation. Yes, the same Heritage Foundation that penned the Project 2025 that is quickly dismantling this country. During negotiations to pass the ACA, Republicans actually improved the bill by adding the individual mandate. That spurred younger people with fewer health issues to buy in and therefore reduce costs for everyone.
Then, in 2019 under the first Trump Administration, they stripped it.
The ACA was working in the sense that it slowed the annual rise in healthcare costs. It was never the best idea for the country because the best idea is Medicare for all, which would remove the insurance middlemen that account for so much of our healthcare costs.
Now it’s clear that universal healthcare is needed more than ever.
But Republicans shout that the government is inefficient and would certainly bungle its rollout.
We love to boast about American exceptionalism, and yet we don't have the confidence in our country to enact a policy that almost all first-world countries have managed to make happen. Which is it?
If one good thing manages to arise from the destruction brought about by President Trump, it will be a real appetite for universal healthcare. It will be a hard thing to create and get right, but today’s skyrocketing healthcare costs show it's the best solution for the American people.
Bell is contributing pundit to The Hustings.
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Your Turn
Hopes of those to the left of populist-conservative President Donald J. Trump that the 2026 mid-terms will reverse Republican majorities in Congress are being tempered by an economy that has not yet felt the effects of the White House’s love of tariffs.
After missing October numbers thanks to the government shutdown, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported 64,000 new jobs in November – a fairly small number, but a bit higher than economists had expected. Then the BLS reported the Consumer Price Index had slipped slightly from 3% in September to 2.7% in November. Though still above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target, it’s a sign manufacturers and retailers are absorbing more of the Trump tariffs than what they pass on to consumers.
More recently, the Bureau of Economic Analysis reported a healthy Gross Domestic Product growth of 4.3% in the third quarter.
Pundit-at-Large Stephen Macaulay tackles the issue of the Trump tariffs on the economy in his right-column opinion piece, “Of Tariffs & Tipple.”
What do you think? Agree or disagree? We welcome your civilly stated comments for this or the right column. Email us at editors@thehustings.news and please indicate your political leanings (irrespective of the comments within) in the subject line, so we may post them in the proper column. –Editors