Trumpcare

Throughout the infamous presidential election of 2016, Donald Trump and the Republican Party frequently mentioned one of their first priorities would be to eliminate the Affordable Care Act (ACA), better known as Obamacare. When Trump did win the election, he and the Republicans in Congress did try to eliminate it. The only problem was they couldn’t agree on what they would replace it with.

Suddenly constituents from both parties realized what they might lose such as being able to obtain insurance if they had a pre-existing condition, the ability to purchase subsidized policies funded by the federal government, and keeping a child under a family policy until they reached the age of 26. In a well staged demonstration, people in wheelchairs and those with young children poured into the Capital building to protest any changes to Obamacare, and the Congressional Budget Office projected that over 30 million people would lose their healthcare coverage. The proposal to eliminate the Affordable Care Act failed by three Republican votes.

A Trumpcare proposal that did pass eliminated the requirement to buy health insurance if your employer did not provide it (called the individual mandate). Some analysts believe this could lead to more healthy people not getting coverage, increasing the insurance costs for those who are sicker. Trump is also proposing the expansion of short-term policies that don’t include many of the benefits provided by the ACA, and allow insurers to reject or charge higher premiums to those with pre-existing conditions. Time will tell whether an agreement can ever be made that will please everyone and provide quality healthcare to all. Our bet: It won't.