ObamaCare is a problem that impacts the lives of every American citizen. Since it was initially planned and put into action, citizens have seen an increase in the cost of their health insurance and a decrease in the quality of care they receive.
During his presidential campaign, President Trump promised to repeal and replace ObamaCare and he is taking steps to ensure that the program ends. However, the narrowly GOP-held Senate and House have consistently failed in repealing or replacing the law. Now, it seems, the president seems keen to tackle Obamacare on his own.
But, just how far can Trump legally go in order to fulfill one of his key campaign promises?
President Trump’s Announcement
On Friday, October 13, 2017, President Trump announced that the federal government would no longer make payments to health insurance providers under ObamaCare. His decision to halt subsidies will prevent cost sharing payments from the government and will cut back on the payments to the insurance providers chosen by Democrats during Obama’s previous term in office.
A key reason for the decision is the unlawful actions of the healthcare legislation. The Department of Health and Human Services determined that the government cannot make payments into ObamaCare as a cost-sharing reduction of the health insurance payments. It is a bail-out for the insurance providers.
When the United States House of Representatives sued the Obama administration for making the payments without appropriation for the cost-sharing, the court determined that it was unlawful. By halting the payments to ObamaCare, President Trump is preventing the inappropriate and unconstitutional use of American tax dollars to continue.
The Impact and Opposition
Trump’s move was just the first step in his plan to repeal and replace the so-called Affordable Care act, but even this tiny maneuver cannot go unchallenged.
By immediately halting payments, health insurance providers will no longer receive a bail-out from the government for their poor insurance plans. The decision will cripple the Obamacare program and force lawmakers to find a permanent replacement for the existing law.
Democrats are expected to push-back on the president’s decision by taking the issue to the courts. Members of the Democratic Party have already threatened a lawsuit, and consider the decision and actions of the president as an act of sabotage against their healthcare program.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi from California alleged the decision may impact Americans by increasing their health insurance costs, strangely ignoring the fact that the law she endorsed has done that already. She suggested that the president’s decision will result in higher premiums, and estimates that the costs of health insurance premiums will increase by as much as 20 percent.
Keeping Americans in Mind
Despite the fears promulgated by the Democratic Party, President Trump prepared for the push-back with an executive order he signed on Thursday before making his announcement. The president’s order was to make healthcare plans with a lower premium widely available to the American public.
By signing his Executive Order, the president showed that he had the American people in mind. He took action to repeal and replace ObamaCare and keep his campaign promises, but he was fully aware that the changes may cause some short-term fluctuations in the costs of insurance premiums. The president has several ideas in mind regarding the Affordable Care Act and has taken the first step to make changes to the healthcare system.
The downside of his decision is that it will take time to put his changes in place and allow Democrats to delay them even further through lawsuits. Fortunately, the president is aware of the possible problems, and is taking steps to help stabilize the industry throughout the transition.
American citizens will see changes in their health insurance and their options within the upcoming months, and may even be able to purchase insurance from across state lines.
Smaller insurance companies will be able to compete with the larger companies, which opens up new doors for opportunities. President Trump’s executive order will help with the initial changes and Americans can expect a gradual shift to more affordable policies with the coverage they want for their families.
~ Conservative Zone
