Meet Butch Matthews, A Republican Who Came To Love Obamacare After Realizing It'll Save Him $13,000

[highplainsdem]

From ThinkProgress:

http://thinkprogress.org/health/2013/10/02/2721501/butch-matthews-obamacare-convert/

Butch Matthews is a 61-year-old former small business owner from Little Rock, Arkansas who used to wake up every morning at 4 A.M. to deliver canned beverages to retailers before retiring in 2010. A lifelong Republican, he was heavily skeptical of the Affordable Care Act when it first passed. “I did not think that Obamacare was going to be a good plan, I did not think that it was going to help me at all,” he told ThinkProgress over the phone.

But after doing a little research, Matthews eventually realized how much the law could help him. And on Tuesday, his local Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS) provider confirmed that he would be able to buy a far better plan than his current policy while saving at least $13,000 per year through Arkansas’ Obamacare marketplace.

Matthews was self-employed between 1997 and 2010, meaning he had to purchase his own plan on the individual market. He chose a Blue Cross Blue Shield plan for himself and his wife that charged a $250 per month premium and had a $2,000 deductible. But the price of that policy kept rising even as it covered fewer of his costs, eventually devolving into his current rate of $1,069 per month with a $10,000 deductible. At this point, it doesn’t even cover his medication or doctors’ visits — particularly concerning considering he had to have two stents placed in his heart in 2006.

-snip-

That all changed once Obamacare’s state-level marketplaces opened to the public on Tuesday. Matthews knew that, at his income level, the law would help him pay for insurance. But even he might not have expected just how good of a deal he could get: his new coverage will cost him absolutely nothing in monthly premiums after factoring in federal subsidies, and has a deductible of $750.

-snip-

ThinkProgress asked Matthews what he'd tell others who are skeptical about Obamacare. His response: "I would tell them to learn more about it before they start talking bad about it. Be more informed, get more information, take your time and study and not just go by just what you hear on one side or the other. Actually check the facts on it."

And he added that although he still considers himself a strong Republican, he's "so happy that this came along."

[Dawson Leery]

1. The tea kooks fear this.

[mike_c]

2. tea party's worst nightmare....

eom

[Rex]

3. THIS is why the GOP shutdown the country.

The know the backlash is going to be huge.

[truebluegreen]

23. A stake in Reagan's black heart:

"Government's not the solution. Government is the problem."

[Earth_First]

4. They're waking up!

This doesn't bode well for the Republicans.

[Tx4obama]

5. Btw, in the subject line - if you change *it will* to *it'll* then the whole $13,000 will fit

[highplainsdem]

8. Thanks! Just changed it!

[Mnemosyne]

6. Actually check the facts, hope it becomes a huge movement. nt

[highplainsdem]

10. It would be a sea change for Republicans.

And it would put right-wing media out of business.

[Mnemosyne]

21. Oh please, oh please, oh please! nt

[Downtown Hound]

7. Of course, the dill hole still considers himself a "strong Republican"

meaning that he'll go right on voting for the asshats that have caused the unnecessary deaths of millions of Americans by fighting health care reform for decades.

Screw him. I say we make Republicans excluded from Obamacare, then let burn with envy as we all save big bucks and laugh at their pathetic asses.

[factsarenotfair]

9. That is SO typical and SO sad.

Not to mention insane.

[Hoyt]

15. Yep, that's the sad part, and his only concern being how it helps him.

[Ishoutandscream2]

24. Yes, another WTF moment

His "party" is totally against this. WTF?!

[stillwaiting]

27. It's probably because he has been brainwashed to think that liberals/Democrats are "evil".

I can't keep people in my life as "friends" if they are conservatives that think this way. Unfortunately, the right wing propaganda organ has a lot of them thinking just that.

My friends don't think that I'm evil due to the moral values I hold.

[reflection]

29. Yeah. "I'm still a strong Republican,"

he says nervously, making sure none of his friends heard him having a thought out loud that didn't originate from the bubble.

[truebluegreen]

32. Is the only way to a Republican's blood-pumping organ

through his own wallet?

[bvar22]

11. So Butch Matthews found out that he REALLY DOES like Green Eggs & Ham!

He should tell Ted Cruz!

[Swede Atlanta]

12. I am happy for him but seriously question his ability to reason......

I have no problem with him being a strong Republican. I am a firm believer in a multi-party system and the concept of having clashing ideas in a democracy is at the very heart of government by, of and for the people.

I would have been heartened had he said the while he still considers himself a strong Republican he was going to voice his strong opposition to the party's position on Obamacare and the shutdown in particular.

Unfortunately I believe he falls into the same crowd as the teabaggers that had signs "Keep the government off of my Medicare or Social Security".

I don't believe for a minute he is incapable of understanding but he has lived a life where he has just done what he has done without any critical thinking. And we know that Republican legislatures around the country are stripping critical thinking skills from curricula in public schools because they want their voters dumb.

[Scuba]

13. "But I still plan to vote against my own best interests."

[rurallib]

19. I got mine! Fuck everybody else!

[kentuck]

14. Excellent!

The Republican, Mathews, gave a very credible testimonial.

[B Calm]

16. This is exactly what the GOP fears!

[roamer65]

17. Stories like this will be the end of the Rethug party as we know it.

[ZombieHorde]

18. I certainly hope so! nt

[highplainsdem]

26. So do I.

[thesquanderer]

20. Still, such a selfish perspective

“I did not think that Obamacare was going to be a good plan, I did not think that it was going to help me at all"

The definition of a good plan doesn't have to be one that helps you personally.

(This might not be what he meant, but that's how it comes off in that quote.)

[stillwaiting]

28. It's definitely what he meant. It's how conservatives think for the most part.

Liberal legislation will actually HELP working class and poor conservatives attain more economic justice, but they just don't believe that to be true.

Sounds like a few of them may wake up on the ACA though (which provides SOME economic fairness - even though it should and could be much better).

[busterbrown]

22. He should have ben asked..

If they successfully repeal Obamacare would he still vote Republican.??. Figuring inflation..

!3,000 in ten years would be what? Close to 140,000... Wonder if he’d still be a “strong republican”?

[deutsey]

30. Probably...the cognitive dissonance is strong among "strong Republicans"

That's one of the things that keeps the GOP from dying off.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

25. There are Republicans who really believe they're the wrong skin color to qualify.

[grantcart]

31. kick

[sinkingfeeling]

33. Too bad his story won't be picked up by the Arkansas media (GOP-owned).

[Anarcho-Socialist]

34. It's a shame that he hasn't engaged brain

to figure out why the GOP leadership have been lying to him over Obamacare.

[judesedit]

35. Congratulations on your new policy and thank you for speaking the truth, sir. It is appreciated.

[valerief]

36. He's a moron! The Republicans didn't vote for this, so why is he still Republican? nt

[ScreamingMeemie]

37. kick

:kick: