The Health 202: Trump moves from firing shots at Obamacare to all
Donald J. Trump
ObamaCare is a broken mess. Piece by piece we will now begin the process of giving America the great HealthCare it deserves! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 13  2017
Paul Ryan supports  Trump 's decision to end the Obamacare cost-sharing payments and gives no indication that Congress will appropriate them. pic.twitter.com/7c6tVaFoV0 — Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) October 13  2017
2. Critics of  Trump ’s decision to end CSR payments seem to forget a federal judge called them unconstitutional and ordered that they stop. — Michael F. Cannon (@mfcannon) October 13  2017
--But the  Trump  administration is injecting turbulence into the Obamacare marketplaces by cutting off the payments just as insurers are finalizing their 2018 plan offerings. Losing the approximately $7 billion in annual payments  which reimburse insurers for discounting deductibles and co-payments for the lowest-income enrollees  is grounds for insurers to back out of their federal contracts to even sell plans next year. The administration had been making the payments on a month-to-month basis  prompting complaints by insurers about a lack of certainty as they tried to plan ahead.
Even a Republican (who is retiring next year) slammed  Trump . Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.):
It really is remarkable how differently retiring and non-retiring congressional Republicans talk about  President Trump . — Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) October 13  2017
 TRUMP TEMPERATURE
--Yesterday  President Trump  signed an anticipated executive order intended to circumvent certain ACA rules by making it easier for individuals and small business to buy alternative types of health insurance with lower prices but fewer benefits  The Post's Amy Goldstein reports.
"The White House and allies portray  the president’s  move as wielding administrative powers to accomplish what congressional Republicans have failed to achieve: fostering more coverage choices while tearing down the law’s insurance marketplaces " Amy writes. "The order represents  Trump ’s biggest step to date to reverse the health-care policies of the Obama administration  a central promise since last year’s presidential campaign.
"Critics  who include state insurance commissioners  most of the health-insurance industry and mainstream policy specialists  predict that a proliferation of these other kinds of coverage will have damaging ripple effects: driving up costs for consumers with serious medical conditions and prompting more insurers to flee the law’s marketplaces. Part of  Trump ’s action  they say  will spark court challenges over  its  legality."
--It expands the availability of short-term insurance policies  which offer limited benefits as a bridge for people between jobs or young adults no longer eligible for their parents’ health plans. The Obama administration ruled that short-term insurance may not last for more than three months;  Trump  wants to extend that to nearly a year.
Of course   Trump  insisted yesterday that  he  was providing "Obamacare relief" in remarks shortly before signing the order. "This will cost the United States government virtually nothing and people will have great  great  healthcare "  he  said. "And when i say people  I mean by the millions and millions."
Members of  Trump 's Cabinet of course cheered the move. Treasury Secertary Steven Mnuchin's statement  per Reuters' Pete Schroeder:
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin puts out a statement praising  Trump  for his healthcare EO. For some reason. pic.twitter.com/d4YZ4aidfB — Pete Schroeder (@peteschroeder) October 12  2017
How  Trump 's executive order could weaken Obamacare:
Here's how the 25th Amendment works:
ObamaCare is a broken mess. Piece by piece we will now begin the process of giving America the great HealthCare it deserves! — [TGT]Paul Ryan supports  Trump 's decision to end the Obamacare cost-sharing payments and gives no indication that Congress will appropriate them. pic.twitter.com/7c6tVaFoV0 — Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) October 13  2017
2. Critics of  [TGT] ’s decision to end CSR payments seem to forget a federal judge called them unconstitutional and ordered that they stop. — Michael F. Cannon (@mfcannon) October 13  2017
--But the  Trump  administration is injecting turbulence into the Obamacare marketplaces by cutting off the payments just as insurers are finalizing their 2018 plan offerings. Losing the approximately $7 billion in annual payments  which reimburse insurers for discounting deductibles and co-payments for the lowest-income enrollees  is grounds for insurers to back out of their federal contracts to even sell plans next year. The administration had been making the payments on a month-to-month basis  prompting complaints by insurers about a lack of certainty as they tried to plan ahead.
Even a Republican (who is retiring next year) slammed  [TGT] . Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.):
It really is remarkable how differently retiring and non-retiring congressional Republicans talk about [TGT] . — Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) October 13  2017
 TRUMP TEMPERATURE
--Yesterday  [TGT]signed an anticipated executive order intended to circumvent certain ACA rules by making it easier for individuals and small business to buy alternative types of health insurance with lower prices but fewer benefits  The Post's Amy Goldstein reports.
"The White House and allies portray  the president’s  move as wielding administrative powers to accomplish what congressional Republicans have failed to achieve: fostering more coverage choices while tearing down the law’s insurance marketplaces " Amy writes. "The order represents  [TGT] ’s biggest step to date to reverse the health-care policies of the Obama administration  a central promise since last year’s presidential campaign.
"Critics  who include state insurance commissioners  most of the health-insurance industry and mainstream policy specialists  predict that a proliferation of these other kinds of coverage will have damaging ripple effects: driving up costs for consumers with serious medical conditions and prompting more insurers to flee the law’s marketplaces. Part of  [TGT] ’s action  they say  will spark court challenges over [TGT][TGT]  legality."
--It expands the availability of short-term insurance policies  which offer limited benefits as a bridge for people between jobs or young adults no longer eligible for their parents’ health plans. The Obama administration ruled that short-term insurance may not last for more than three months;  [TGT]  wants to extend that to nearly a year.
Of course   Trump  insisted yesterday that  he  was providing "Obamacare relief" in remarks shortly before signing the order. "This will cost the United States government virtually nothing and people will have great  great  healthcare "  he  said. "And when i say people  I mean by the millions and millions."
Members of  Trump 's Cabinet of course cheered the move. Treasury Secertary Steven Mnuchin's statement  per Reuters' Pete Schroeder:
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin puts out a statement praising  Trump  for his healthcare EO. For some reason. pic.twitter.com/d4YZ4aidfB — Pete Schroeder (@peteschroeder) October 12  2017
How  Trump 's executive order could weaken Obamacare:
Here's how the 25th Amendment works: