Times are always changing, but this probably feels especially true right now.
President Trump hasn’t wasted any time. Within hours of being sworn in, his first executive order was telling government agencies to “scale back” as many sections of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) as possible, as a way of phasing Obamacare out—like he’s been saying he would.
But following the order, insurance commissioner Dave Jones has stated that the move is “directly contrary to [Trump’s] pledge to replace the Affordable Care Act with terrific ‘insurance for everybody’ while repealing the ACA.”
You’re probably pretty sick and tired of hearing news about what Trump may or may not do and how it may or may not affect your health coverage. And you’re right to feel that way because our country is in a weird spot right now. But BuyHealthInsurance.com was founded to provide knowledgeable, human advice, no matter what the climate is like. And we intend to keep that up, now more than ever.
Even though the president’s one-page order hasn’t been too specific about which parts of the ACA might be cut (or simply fixed), its broad use of language has given federal agencies a lot of space to change, delay, or overturn provisions of the Act that they view as too expensive, which means that the potential impact of all this is hard to predict, but could be very far-reaching.
At this point, the Republicans don’t have a replacement for Obamacare, which means their intention to repeal it is status pending for the foreseeable future.
Even though the order has stated that “the executive branch [must] ensure that the law is being efficiently implemented, take all actions … to minimize the unwarranted economic and regulatory burdens of the act, and prepare to afford the states more flexibility and control to create a more free and open health care market,” it also encourages federal agencies not to enforce ACA provisions.
For example, the Trump administration has reportedly stopped all Obamacare outreach and advertising in these crucial last days of the 2017 enrollment season. Usually, signups increase in the days before the deadline as a result of this outreach.
Without the enforcement of this and other ACA provisions, people become less likely to enroll, or they drop coverage, which may force many health insurers to withdraw from the market, which in turn decreases competition, makes coverage unavailable and drives up prices. Ultimately, if Republicans follow their plan to repeal the health-care law without an alternative, an estimated 18 million Americans in the first year and about 32 million after a decade – will have to seek affordable coverage elsewhere, or go without.
Words alone are not enough to guarantee proper coverage for you and your family. You know that, you feel that, and so do we.
For the record, you can still sign up for Obamacare through January 31. Feel free to spread the word!
You have questions. Book an appointment with us today to talk clarity, stability, and quality health coverage that works for you, which is what this is really all about, at the end of the day—politics aside. We look forward to helping you make sense of it and come out on the other end with the best plan possible. This is not only what we do. It’s what we care about.