This has made Obamacare supporters who have been saying that the whole point of Obamacare is to enable more people to obtain affordable healthcare very upset. These same people also had zero problem with Obama legislating with his pen
Fed up with Congress, Trump whacks Obamacare with his pen
An executive order is expected to encourage creation of skimpy, cheaper plans that would take healthier enrollees from Obamacare.President Donald Trump is trying to do with the stroke of a pen what Republicans in Congress could not — bring about the end of the Obamacare markets.
Trump is expected to sign an executive order on Thursday directing an overhaul of major federal regulations that would encourage the rise of a raft of cheap, loosely regulated health insurance plans that don’t have to comply with certain Obamacare consumer protections and benefit rules. They’d attract younger and healthier people — leaving older and sicker ones in the Obamacare markets facing higher and higher costs.
They’re already facing higher and higher costs, because Obamacare was essentially set up to fail in the first place. Even before Trump, insurers were dropping out, leaving many with just one choice of carriers, and, in some areas no choices. Costs were rising, doctors were not taking it. Anyway, in Liberal World, consumer choice is apparently a bad thing.
Remember, though, unlike Obama, Trump tried the proper way, going through Congress. Many times. Obama simply made an announcement that He Wanted Things Done, then didn’t bother trying to engage the duly elected lawmakers, declared Congress a failure, and signed an executive order soon after.
The focus of the directive is association health plans, which allow small-business owners, trade groups and others to band together to purchase health insurance. Such plans would be exempt from certain Obamacare’s rules, including requirements that it cover standard benefits, such as prescription drug coverage. To make those changes, the administration is already working to reinterpret ERISA, a massive federal law that governs many workplace benefits, people familiar with the order said — opening the door to more expansive changes that could affect Obamacare plans more directly.
The administration is also preparing to roll back Obama-era restrictions on short-term health insurance plans, allowing insurers to once again sell stopgap policies which don’t cover pre-existing conditions, mental health services and many other costly benefits. Coverage could extend for as long as a year, up from a current three-month limit.
So, things that could help people out? Goodness, government isn’t supposed to do that, government is supposed to make citizens Reliant on Government. Huh. As far as the young and healthies goes, well, they weren’t signing up in the first place, hence the complaint by insurance companies from the start that they were getting too many sicks in the pool.
Regardless, this has made so many Ocare supporters very upset. The NY Times is apoplectic. They’re also apoplectic over allowing religious liberty on contraception. The same at the Washington Post. And Vox. Mother Jones. And so many others. Democrats passed a bad law, set the program up poorly, and had no problem with Obama’s executive orders, on Ocare and others. They can’t complain now.
Crossed at Right Wing News.
