In 2008 President Obama took office along with legislative majorities in both houses and a universal health care plan, single payer plan and eventually a buy-in to Medicare plan were high priorities on the legislative agenda. A compromise destined for failure (all too obviously torpedoed by the insurance companies) was hobbled together over two years of deal making and breaking and eventually passed without a mandate for universal participation.
Since the passage of the Affordable Healthcare Act in 2010 a resounding chant echoed in the halls of congress.

Repeal Obamacare!
Six years later the chant was modified by the Trump campaign and it became “Repeal and Replace Obamacare” and “replace” was defined as “lower premiums and better coverage”. The Hillary campaign overwhelmed with “Benghazi” and “email issues” embarked on a campaign of carefully phrased soundbites regarding healthcare and a paranoid campaign staff obsessed with controlling the message about almost anything else.
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