Democrats sold Obamacare to the public on the promise that it would make healthcare more affordable. It failed. Miserably. For the longest time, Democrats have refused to acknowledge this fact, and the recent debate over Obamacare subsidies largely glossed over the fact that even with the subsidies that Democrats are fighting so desperately for, insurance premiums have gone up, while coverage has gotten worse.
But something interesting happened on CNN Monday night. Ana Navarro, CNN’s senior political commentator and one of the network’s most reliably liberal voices, admitted the truth: that the so-called Affordable Care Act is anything but affordable.
Navarro started off defending Obamacare, listing off the left’s favorite talking points that we’ve been hearing for years. “There’s a lot of things in Obamacare, there’s a lot of things in the ACA that Americans like,” she said. “The idea that you can’t get kicked out of healthcare because of a preexisting condition, the idea that there’s no caps. You know, all of these things are things that we’ve all benefited from, particularly the neediest amongst us.”
But in the same breath, Navarro admitted the central failure that’s haunted Obamacare since the beginning: people can’t afford it. “Look, I think this issue is not going to go away, and we’re going to be talking about this because we’re going to hear horrible stories,” she said. “People are not going to be able to afford their insurance. I don’t think, even with subsidies, they’re going to be able to afford the premiums that are hiking up 100, 200, 300%.”
That’s right, “even with subsidies,” people can’t afford their premiums. The network that once hailed Obamacare as a historic and successful achievement is now conceding what millions of Americans already know from experience: the law made health insurance more expensive, not more affordable.
That’s when Federalist reporter Brianna Lyman cut straight to the point. “Wasn’t Obamacare supposed to fix that?” she asked.
That, of course, is the question. Because the answer, of course, is “Yes.” Barack Obama didn’t promise that it would slow the rate of increase of premiums; he promised that it would bring premiums down.
“My plan begins by covering every American. If you already have health insurance, the only thing that will change for you under this plan is the amount of money you will spend on premiums. That will be less,” Barack Obama promised on the campaign trail in 2007.
Navarro, caught off guard, stumbled for a response. “When people — no. Well, not without the universal — I mean, there’s —” she trailed off. The moment was awkward enough that even Scott Jennings, CNN’s resident conservative analyst, couldn’t resist twisting the knife. “Affordable Care Act,” he reminded her. “Affordable was the first word.”
Jennings is right, obviously, but it’s more than that. Obama promised multiple times that Obamacare would lower premiums by an average of $2,500/year per family.
Now, just because Navarro is admitting that premiums, even with subsidies, are unaffordable, doesn’t mean she’s blaming Obama or the Democrats who voted for it. Instead, she accused Republicans of undermining Obamacare. “The Republicans have been chipping away at the ACA,” she said, even though there were countless “fixes” and changes to Obamacare under Obama and even Joe Biden.
Even as Navarro tried to frame the problem as Republican sabotage, she said the quiet part said out loud. “Americans are going to choose to drop health insurance that they cannot afford,” she said.
🚨 ANA NAVARRO: Americans’ healthcare premiums are going up 100%, 200%, 300%!
BRIANNA LYMAN: Wasn’t Obamacare supposed to fix that?!
NAVARRO: No, well…listen…
SCOTT JENNINGS: *Affordable* Care Act. Affordable was the FIRST WORD! It’s NOT.
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) November 11, 2025
For years, Democrats sold Obamacare as a moral crusade that would make healthcare cheaper and fairer for everyone. Instead, premiums exploded, deductibles skyrocketed, and coverage got worse. When even CNN pundits are conceding that people can’t afford their insurance “even with subsidies,” the illusion of success is crumbling. No amount of spin can hide the reality that Obamacare’s signature achievement — affordability — never materialized.
Editor’s Note: After more than 40 days of screwing Americans, a few Dems have finally caved. The Schumer Shutdown was never about principle—just inflicting pain for political points.
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