The Healthcare Message Wars

Abstract

President Obama probably thought his healthcare legacy was cemented with passage of the landmark Affordable Care Act (ACA). But the failure of his administration and Democrats in Congress to effectively tout the benefits of the ACA created a rhetorical void that the Republican Party, and later Donald Trump, were only too willing to fill. The ferocious anti-Obamacare messaging cost Democrats seats in Congress, contributed to the 2016 defeat of Hillary Clinton, and paved the way for significant substantive policy retrenchment in the Trump era. Yet the ACA roller coaster continues. President Trump, even when he had control of both chambers of Congress, discovered the same lessons his predecessor learned: it is easier to tear down than to build; it is easier to campaign than to govern. And with portions of the law still being challenged and many prominent Democrats veering leftward toward single-payer style health systems, it remains an open question whether either party has truly found its rhetorical sweet spot on this complex, costly, highly personal issue.