# VOX Article about Kentucky Obamacare users that voted Trump **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [December 13, 2016, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vox-article-about-kentucky-obamacare-users-that-voted-trump/774639 "2016-12-13T22:03:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Salvor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Salvor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Salvor)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2016, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vox-article-about-kentucky-obamacare-users-that-voted-trump/774639/1 "2016-12-13T22:03:11Z")
> **[Why Obamacare enrollees voted for Trump](https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2016/12/13/13848794/kentucky-obamacare-trump)** > > Whitley County, Kentucky's uninsured rate declined 60 percent under Obamacare. So why did 82 percent of voters there support Donald Trump? This entire article shows a disaster of common sense among the people there, but more than that, it shows the mistake about implementing obamacare the way it was implemented. The democrats should have done everything in their power to at LEAST get a public option on the table when they had a super majority. When the insurance company put in money to try and tank public support, go HARD right back at them and republicans by positing, if the MARKET is SOOOOOOOO superior than ANYTHING the big bad federal government touches, why worry about a public option? Clearly private insurance will be the favored choice. For the blue dogs, the democrats should have rallied liberal billionaires to rain money and high end jobs for the congressmen that would lose their upcoming elections, and offer the same to their staff to cushion the blow of the loss of power. After all, the moderate democrats were the ones that lost power ANYWAY, so they may as well have gotten something out of it. The decision to slap lipstick on a pig of private insurance hurt when it came to politics, even if it really did help people get coverage in the real world. In modern times when it’s expected your opponents will LIE about what you’ve done to make it seem worse, you’d better at least do GOOD in your policy choices. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2016, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vox-article-about-kentucky-obamacare-users-that-voted-trump/774639/2 "2016-12-13T22:17:44Z")
> [@](#): > > There was a persistent belief that Trump would fix these problems and make Obamacare work better. I kept hearing informed voters, who had watched the election closely, say they did hear the promise of repeal but simply felt Trump couldn’t repeal a law that had done so much good for them. > [@](#): > > The political reality in Washington, however, looks much different: Republicans are dead set on repealing the Affordable Care Act. The plans they have proposed so far would leave millions of people without insurance and make it harder for sicker, older Americans to access coverage. No version of a Republican plan would keep the Medicaid expansion as Obamacare envisions it. Not to worry. When the Republicans hold the presidency, senate and house, and then they make policy that strips these people of medical insurance, they will do the only logical thing next election: Blame the Democrats, and more specifically, Obama. ---
**Author:** ![puddleglum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puddleglum/32/137_2.png) [@puddleglum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puddleglum)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2016, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vox-article-about-kentucky-obamacare-users-that-voted-trump/774639/3 "2016-12-13T22:39:19Z")
That article was so condescending to those people. I think that they are more likely to be right about the future of Obamacare than the author. Obamacare won’t just be repealed, it will be replaced. What comes after may or may not be better but those people have tried Obamacare, did not like it and want to see what comes after. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2016, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vox-article-about-kentucky-obamacare-users-that-voted-trump/774639/4 "2016-12-13T22:43:02Z")
> [@puddleglum](#): > > That article was so condescending to those people. I think that they are more likely to be right about the future of Obamacare than the author. Obamacare won’t just be repealed, it will be replaced. What comes after may or may not be better but those people have tried Obamacare, did not like it and want to see what comes after. Bullshit. Republicans have had over seven years to spell out what would replace Obamacare. So far we’ve heard the worthless tort reform, the equally worthless allowing insurers to sell across state lines, and the even more worthless health care accounts. They have no intention of replacing it. What they’re going to do is repeal it effective after the 2018 election, then blame failure to replace it on Democrats. It’s party first, party only for this lot. ---
**Author:** ![Bone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bone/32/407_2.png) [@Bone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bone)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2016, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vox-article-about-kentucky-obamacare-users-that-voted-trump/774639/5 "2016-12-13T22:52:14Z")
Moving rant from Elections to BBQ Pit. [/moderating] ---
**Author:** ![raventhief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/raventhief/32/4_2.png) [@raventhief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raventhief)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2016, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vox-article-about-kentucky-obamacare-users-that-voted-trump/774639/6 "2016-12-13T23:06:49Z")
I hope that obamacare gets fixed, rather than just repealed. The actions of the republicans over that last several years have not been encouraging, however. How c many times have they tried to repeal it? How many plans have they offered to replace it? ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2016, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vox-article-about-kentucky-obamacare-users-that-voted-trump/774639/7 "2016-12-13T23:55:09Z")
Nope, it will be gone. It’s not like they have a choice. They have been wailing for years how it’s the worst thing evah, tried to repeal it time and time again. If they don’t repeal it when they have the power to do so, they will have to admit that they were lying ass dogs. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2016, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vox-article-about-kentucky-obamacare-users-that-voted-trump/774639/8 "2016-12-14T00:02:08Z")
> [@puddleglum](#): > > That article was so condescending to those people. Stupid people deserve condescension. There’s no point being condescending to _smart_ people, after all. > [@Typo\_Negative](#): > > Nope, it will be gone. It’s not like they have a choice. They have been wailing for years how it’s the worst thing evah, tried to repeal it time and time again. If they don’t repeal it when they have the power to do so, they will have to admit that they were lying ass dogs. It wouldn’t be particularly shocking for them to neither repeal nor admit but to keep blaming Obama, and a good chunk of the American electorate will accept it casually. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2016, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vox-article-about-kentucky-obamacare-users-that-voted-trump/774639/9 "2016-12-14T00:40:45Z")
> [@Salvor](#): > > The democrats should have done everything in their power to at LEAST get a public option on the table when they had a super majority. They were too busy trying to suck up to the Republicans, as always. The “public option” had stronger support than Obamacare among their supporters, but as always they were willing to betray their own supporters in yet another useless attempt at “compromise” with their implacable enemies. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2016, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vox-article-about-kentucky-obamacare-users-that-voted-trump/774639/10 "2016-12-14T00:52:13Z")
Well, one of the plans floated was an ‘immediate’ repeal that would only be phased in (or out, as the case may be) over 2-4 years, kicking the can down the road to ‘give people time to adjust’ and for insurers to adapt. It will be interesting to see if, in two years, the people who vote Republican and hated this thing as the Worst Bill Ever are sufficiently hurt by it to change their mind about it. Pretty much all I can say for the next 2-4 years is that the Republicans control the government and they’re going to have to own everything that happens. No liberal bogeyman to blame it on now. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2016, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vox-article-about-kentucky-obamacare-users-that-voted-trump/774639/11 "2016-12-14T01:04:02Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > Well, one of the plans floated was an ‘immediate’ repeal that would only be phased in (or out, as the case may be) over 2-4 years, kicking the can down the road to ‘give people time to adjust’ and for insurers to adapt. > > It will be interesting to see if, in two years, the people who vote Republican and hated this thing as the Worst Bill Ever are sufficiently hurt by it to change their mind about it. > > Pretty much all I can say for the next 2-4 years is that the Republicans control the government and they’re going to have to own everything that happens. No liberal bogeyman to blame it on now. Are you assuming the Dems won’t give them political cover with a filibuster? ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2016, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vox-article-about-kentucky-obamacare-users-that-voted-trump/774639/12 "2016-12-14T03:24:11Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > Pretty much all I can say for the next 2-4 years is that the Republicans control the government and they’re going to have to own everything that happens. No liberal bogeyman to blame it on now. They’ll do it anyway, and their followers will believe it. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Fun\_Ball](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_fun_ball/32/17664_2.png) [@Happy\_Fun\_Ball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Fun_Ball)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2016, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vox-article-about-kentucky-obamacare-users-that-voted-trump/774639/13 "2016-12-14T03:55:19Z")
I predict that Trump will have Obamacare repealed and replaced with something that is almost exactly the same. Mandated coverage, parental coverage until age 26, no refusal for preexisting conditions, state exchanges, basically everything expect maybe the medicaid expansion. It will be called Trumpcare and it will be wildly popular. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2016, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vox-article-about-kentucky-obamacare-users-that-voted-trump/774639/14 "2016-12-14T05:10:22Z")
I expect they’ll get rid of Obamacare, Medicare, Social Security, the FDA, the EPA, and essentially every other constructive function of government. They only want government to be used to hurt and control people, and consider helping or protecting people in any way to be evil. Bombing, imprisoning and spying on people is good; keeping people alive, free and healthy is evil. Their moral code is inverted. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2016, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vox-article-about-kentucky-obamacare-users-that-voted-trump/774639/15 "2016-12-14T11:41:29Z")
> [@Happy\_Fun\_Ball](#): > > I predict that Trump will have Obamacare repealed and replaced with something that is almost exactly the same. Mandated coverage, parental coverage until age 26, no refusal for preexisting conditions, state exchanges, basically everything expect maybe the medicaid expansion. It will be called Trumpcare and it will be wildly popular. The Medicaid expansion part is so aggravating because so many people _thought Medicaid already worked that way_. Well before Obama, let alone Obamacare, I’d hear people wave away our craptastic health insurance system by saying people who can’t afford insurance can just go get Medicaid. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2016, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vox-article-about-kentucky-obamacare-users-that-voted-trump/774639/16 "2016-12-14T12:09:54Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > They were too busy trying to suck up to the Republicans, as always. The “public option” had stronger support than Obamacare among their supporters, but as always they were willing to betray their own supporters in yet another useless attempt at “compromise” with their implacable enemies. A larger portion of the blame goes to the Blue Dog Democrats (and particularly Ben “Cornhusker Kickback” Nelson) for fiddling with the bill to try and gain personal advantages in return for their votes. Unsurprisingly, when Nelson left the Senate in 2013 he dropped right into a cushy job as CEO of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. Thanks a fucking lot, Ben. ---
**Author:** ![Rysto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ecccb3/32.png) [@Rysto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysto)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2016, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vox-article-about-kentucky-obamacare-users-that-voted-trump/774639/17 "2016-12-14T15:45:20Z")
They should have put the public option in the bill and dared the Blue Dogs to filibuster it. ---
**Author:** ![pyromyte](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/d26b3c/32.png) [@pyromyte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pyromyte)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2016, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vox-article-about-kentucky-obamacare-users-that-voted-trump/774639/18 "2016-12-14T21:29:38Z")
I am from Kentucky and currently live in Kentucky. I feel the article, and possibly some of the posters here a missing a bigger picture item in regard to Kentuckians overwhelming support of Trump (which to outsiders may seem odd considering how much of the population benefits from government benefits such as Obamacare). In my opinion, that bigger picture item is coal. Parts of Eastern Kentucky are very mountainous and have no industry other than coal. Land is not easily farmable. Roads do not make the area easily accessible other than by train. I have never seen such a decline in an industry like I have seen my fellow Kentuckians in ‘coal country’ endure. This decline has accelerated in the last few years. Coal output from this region has not been this low since the 1800’s (before railroads made their impact locally). Coal jobs in the region dropped 21.6% in the first 3 months of this year, and bled another 6.1% over the next 3 months. The area is in a depression. Everyone I know from here has been either directly affected, or has close family or friends that have been affected. While the causes of the decline in coal are debatable, Obama and Hillary are 100% seen as enemies of coal here, with the former taking many steps to decrease the economic viability of coal as fuel. Not making an argument for coal here, but I’m just saying…Is it really that surprising? As important as health insurance is, so is making a living. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2016, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vox-article-about-kentucky-obamacare-users-that-voted-trump/774639/19 "2016-12-14T22:03:12Z")
Well, coal needs to go away. The amount of mercury and other heavy metals in our water and soil are increasing every year (avg 3.8% per year between 1993 and 2015) and virtually ALL of that is coal related. And then there’s the simple fact that mining is by nature a boom-bust cycle. It lasts only as long as it can be profitably mined. Ghost town websites are filled with gold and silver towns that boomed, grew large enough to have opera houses and then they faded away as the silver did. No one ‘owes’ them any right to keep mining coal just because that is what they do, any more than the rest of us have a right to mine silver, make steel, cars and clothing. Like the people of those silver towns, they can either move on to other opportunities or stay behind in poverty and squalor. ---
**Author:** ![Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/budget_player_cadet/32/205_2.png) [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Budget_Player_Cadet)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2016, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vox-article-about-kentucky-obamacare-users-that-voted-trump/774639/20 "2016-12-14T22:07:50Z")
If this man dies because he loses his health insurance, I’m just going to laugh. In the words of Bill Hicks: “WE LOST A MORON!”. Elections have consequences, and if you vote against your own best interests with the understanding of a fucking two-year-old, and die as a direct result of the candidate fulfilling the promise he and his party have been touting for _half a fucking decade_, you deserve about as much sympathy as someone who drives a school bus into a river to visit the magic pixie people. Because there are people who will die as a result of this who knew full well what a Trump win meant. And they weren’t this fucking stupid. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vox-article-about-kentucky-obamacare-users-that-voted-trump/774639.md?page=2)