Trump’s Executive Order Scaling Back Health Law Injects Uncertainty In Already Unstable Industry
The president instructs all federal agencies to “waive, defer, grant -exemptions from or delay” any part of the law that imposes a financial or regulatory burden, but the practical implications and potential fallout from the order are still unclear. Meanwhile, a Donald Trump aide says the president will propose moving Medicaid toward block grants, and that the individual mandate is on the chopping block.
The New York Times:
Trump Issues Executive Order Scaling Back Parts Of Obamacare
In his first executive order, President Trump on Friday directed government agencies to scale back as many aspects of the Affordable Care Act as possible, moving within hours of being sworn in to fulfill his pledge to eviscerate Barack Obama’s signature health care law. (Davis and Pear, 1/20)
The Washington Post:
With Executive Order, Trump Tosses A ‘Bomb’ Into Fragile Health Insurance Markets
The practical implications of Trump’s action on Friday are harder to decipher. Its language instructs all federal agencies to “waive, defer, grant exemptions from or delay” any part of the law that imposes a financial or regulatory burden on those affected by it. That would cover consumers, doctors, hospitals and other providers, as well as insurers and drug companies. The prospect of what could flow from pulling back or eliminating administrative rules — including no longer enforcing the individual mandate, which requires Americans to get coverage or pay an annual penalty, and ending health plans’ “essential benefits” — could affect how many people sign up on the Affordable Care Act marketplaces before open enrollment ends Jan. 31 for 2017 coverage, as well as how many companies decide to participate next year. (Eilperin and Sullivan, 1/22)
The Wall Street Journal:
Donald Trump’s Health-Law Directive Spurs A Dash To Decode It
The executive order suggests the new administration intends to take swift action on its own if necessary, with a particular eye to the health law’s centerpiece requirement that most individuals buy insurance or pay a penalty. Removing that penalty would be popular in some quarters. It could also set in motion a chain of events that would hasten the collapse of the individual insurance market, and with it the health law, if no other steps were taken. Insurers losing a guaranteed customer base, while still being forced to insure sick people, could move to pull out of some markets or signal plans to dramatically increase premiums, with uncertain political consequences. (Radnofsky and Armour, 1/22)
Los Angeles Times:
Here's What Trump's Executive Order Really Means For Obamacare
Has Obamacare been repealed? In a word, no. The healthcare law was a huge piece of legislation that included scores of legal requirements and provided hundreds of billions of dollars in assistance to help extend health coverage to millions of Americans. All that can only be repealed by another law, which would require an act of Congress, not just an executive order from the president. (Levey, 1/21)
The New York Times:
Trump’s Health Plan Would Convert Medicaid To Block Grants, Aide Says
President Trump’s plan to replace the Affordable Care Act will propose giving each state a fixed amount of federal money in the form of a block grant to provide health care to low-income people on Medicaid, a top adviser to Mr. Trump said in an interview broadcast on Sunday. The adviser, Kellyanne Conway, who is Mr. Trump’s White House counselor, said that converting Medicaid to a block grant would ensure that “those who are closest to the people in need will be administering” the program. (Pear, 1/22)
Reuters:
Trump May Not Enforce Individual Health Insurance Mandate: Aide
The Trump administration may no longer enforce a rule requiring individual Americans to carry health insurance or pay a penalty if they do not, a senior White House official said on Sunday. Speaking on ABC's "This Week" program, Kellyanne Conway, counselor to the president, said President Donald Trump "may stop enforcing the individual mandate." (Lange and Clarke, 1/22)
And talk of high-risk pools evoke memories of terrible coverage and patients dying on wait lists —
The New York Times:
Trump’s Vow To Repeal Health Law Revives Talk Of High-Risk Pools
Joanne Fitzgerald was getting divorced and was stressed out. When stomach pain kicked in, she saw a doctor to have it checked out.That was her mistake. The doctor diagnosed a mild form of gastritis, an inflammation of the stomach lining, and recommended some over-the-counter medicine. But when the divorce became final, in 2008, she lost health coverage from her husband’s employer, and insurer after insurer refused to cover her because of the condition. She was finally offered a policy that excluded coverage for anything related to her gastrointestinal tract. (Abelson, 1/22)