The establishment of the Trump administration and a Republican Congress in 2017 opened opportunities to implement new studies on health policies and federalism. The repeal-and-replace proposals applied in regards to the Affordable Care Act (ACA) have played significant roles in enhancing state authority in healthcare policy shaping and decreasing its power using reduced financial support (Thompson, Gusmano, & Shinohara, 2018). Altogether, five important healthcare developments should be mentioned in regards to Trump’s current presidency.
In October 2017, the government stopped reimbursing American insurers for low-income deductibles and co-pay waivers. In December 2017, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act was signed to repeal the tax of Obamacare for those who do not have health insurance coverage (Amadeo, 2019). In January 2019, the government loosened the regulations on short-term insurances, and in February 2016, Trump’s administration makes it possible for states to impose requirements for work among Medicaid recipients. In May 2018, the American Patients First plan was revealed for lower prices on drugs.
When compared to Obamacare, the new provisions have several important consequences for US citizens. If a person is generally healthy, the costs will drop as the new tax plan does not enforce penalties. Also, healthy individuals can purchase short-term plans that cost much less than Obamacare insurance. If a person has chronic illnesses, costs are expected to increase due to the reliance on ACA plans. When healthier customers abandon most insurers, companies will have to increase their prices leaving others no chance but to purchase health insurance plans at higher costs compared to Obamacare. Therefore, there are both positive and negative outcomes of Trump’s administration policies on healthcare.
References
Amadeo, K. (2019). Donald Trump on health care: How Trump’s health care policies will raise premium prices for you. Web.
Thompson, F., Gusmano, M., & Shinohara, S. (2018). Trump and the Affordable Care Act: Congressional repeal efforts, executive federalism, and program durability. Publius: The Journal of Federalism, 48(3), 396-424.