Trump Misleads On Preexisting Conditions
The Department of Justice is siding with plaintiffs in a lawsuit that it said, if successful, would end Affordable Care Act protections for those with preexisting conditions. Yet, President Donald Trump claimed that preexisting conditions are safe and that he will always fight for patients with preexisting conditions.
The president made his comments during a rally in West Virginia to back the Republican Senate candidate, Patrick Morrisey, who is running against Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin. Morrisey, the states attorney general, is one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit concerning the ACA.
Trump, Sept. 29: I will always fight for, and always protect, patients with preexisting conditions. You have to do it. You have to do it. Some people think thats not a Republican thing to do. I dont care, and Ill tell you what. All of the Republicans are coming in to that position now. All of them. And well do it the right way too. Preexisting conditions are safe. OK? Just remember that. Preexisting tell that to the fake news media when they write. Fakers.
Trumps comments contradict the Justice Departments actions, which Trump approved, according to a June letter from the Justice Department to Congress on this lawsuit. We asked the White House press office for an explanation of the presidents remarks, but we have not yet received a response.
No hearings have been held on the bill, and there is no indication if Trump supports it.
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President Trump outlined his long-awaited health care plan on Thursday, signing a series of executive orders he said are aimed at protecting Americans with pre-existing conditions, ending surprise billing and introducing more affordable public options.
The move comes as the Trump administration tries to overturn ObamaCare in the Supreme Court after getting rid of the key enforcement tool of the law, the individual mandate, when Congress eliminated the penalty for not having insurance.
Abolishing it could mean 20 million Americans lose their health insurance, though the case will not be heard until after the election.
Were delivering better care with more choice at a much lower cost and working to ensure Americans have access to the care they need, Trump said of his America First Health Care Plan at an event in Charlotte, NC.
The first executive order requires that health insurance companies cover all pre-existing conditions for all customers, a move he floated in August.
President Barack Obamas plan, formally known as the Affordable Care Act, already includes a provision that prevents insurers from discriminating against Americans with pre-existing medical conditions.
But railing against ObamaCare as a terrible plan that sent premiums soaring, Trump claimed the GOP was the new party of health care.
When I took office, more than 50 percent of counties nationwide offered plans from only a single insurance company on the individual market, Trump said.
Ap Fact Check: Trumps False Push On Preexisting Conditions
WASHINGTON President Donald Trump is teasing the possibility of executive action to require health insurance companies to cover preexisting medical conditions, something that he says has never been done before.
Its been done before.
People with such medical problems have health insurance protections because of President Barack Obamas health care law, which Trump is trying to dismantle.
A look at Trumps claim during a news conference Friday evening in Bedminster, New Jersey:
TRUMP: Over the next two weeks, Ill be pursuing a major executive order requiring health insurance companies to cover all preexisting conditions for all customers. Thats a big thing. Ive always been very strongly in favor. … This has never been done before.
THE FACTS: No executive order is needed to protect people with preexisting medical conditions because Obamacare already does that and its the law of the land. If Trump persuades the Supreme Court to overturn the Affordable Care Act as unconstitutional, its unclear what degree of protection an executive order would offer in place of the law.
The Obama health law states that a group health plan and a health insurance issuer offering group or individual health insurance coverage may not impose any preexisting condition exclusion with respect to such plan or coverage.
There is no magic wand you can wave to just make it so, he said.
EDITORS NOTE A look at the veracity of claims by political figures.
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One In Two Americans Has A Pre
This new analysis sheds light on the number of Americans gaining protections from discrimination based on pre-existing conditions under the Affordable Care Act. Because pre-existing conditions are determined by insurer practices which vary, two estimates of the number of non-elderly individuals likely to be denied coverage in the individual market were constructed. The first includes only conditions that were identified using eligibility guidelines from State-run high-risk pools that pre-dated the Affordable Care Act. These programs generally insure individuals who are rejected by private insurers. As such, the lower bound estimates are people with a health problem likely to lead to a denial or significant mark-up or carve-out of benefits. The second includes additional common health and mental health conditions that would result in an automatic denial of coverage, exclusion of the condition, or higher premiums according to major health insurers underwriting guidelines identified using internet searches. Individuals with these conditions would at least get charged a higher premium but could also have benefits carved out or be denied coverage altogether. Both estimates are based on the most recent data available for 2008 .
Trump Signs Eos On Health Care But Does Little To Change Existing Legislation
WASHINGTON President Donald Trump announced two new health care executive orders Thursday on protecting pre-existing conditions and preventing surprise billing as the president seeks to shore up his support on an issue that remains top of mind to voters amid to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
The actions, however, have minimal impact. The surprise billing order requires Congress to pass legislation and pre-existing conditions are already protected under the Affordable Care Act, legislation that Trump is currently fighting to get rid of.
“My plan expands affordable insurance options, reduces the cost of prescription drugs, ends surprise medical billing, increases fairness through price transparency, streamlines bureaucracy, accelerates innovation, strongly protects Medicare, and always protects patients with pre-existing conditions,” Trump claimed, speaking in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Thursday afternoon.
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Despite Claims Trump Order Congressional Proposals Lack Consumer Protections
In late September, President Trump issued an executive order declaring that the policy of the United States is to ensure that Americans with pre-existing conditions can obtain the insurance of their choice at affordable rates. As has been widely reported, this statement is meaningless and has no legal effect. The same document reiterates the Trump Administrations true policy: its endorsement of the ACA repeal lawsuit that seeks to overturn the ACA, including its pre-existing condition protections, which is scheduled to be argued before the Supreme Court in November. The Administration also has a four-year track record of trying to dismantle the ACAs pre-existing condition protections.
The Senate recently considered the Protect Act, sponsored by Senator Thom Tillis, which would reinstate two ACA pre-existing condition protections but leave many others on the cutting room floor. Rep. Greg Walden introduced a similar bill, the Pre-Existing Conditions Protection Act, in the House last year.
Meanwhile, the Protect Act lacks many other ACA protections and would let insurers:
- exclude coverage of essential health benefits such as maternity coverage, mental health care, and substance use treatment as many plans did before the ACA
- impose annual and lifetime limits on how much they will pay out and
- sell plans with no limit on how much enrollees could owe in out-of-pocket costs if they got sick .
Trump Signs Executive Order On Pre
This week, President Donald Trump signed an executive order declaring it a policy of the federal government to ensure that Americans with pre-existing conditions can obtain health insurance of their choice at affordable rates. The order directs specified federal agencies to build upon existing actions to expand access to and options for affordable healthcare and build upon existing actions to ensure consumers have access to meaningful price and quality information prior to the delivery of care.
The order additionally directs U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to take administrative action to prevent a patient from receiving a medical bill for out-of-pocket expenses that the patient could not have reasonably foreseen in the event Congress does not pass legislation on the matter by the years end. The order also directs specified agencies to maintain and build upon existing actions to reduce waste, fraud, and abuse in the healthcare system.
President Trump framed the order as an America-First Healthcare Plan, but health policy experts widely signaled the Presidents order falls short on details and has minimal impact on existing legislation and regulations. Additionally, the order comes amid an upcoming legal challenge to the Affordable Care Act .
The full executive order from the Trump Administration is available here.
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Health Reform Ends Discrimination Based On Pre
A central element of the Affordable Care Act, passed by the last Congress and signed into law by the President, is a new set of patient protections that prohibit insurance companies from denying coverage to Americans because they need it. Starting in 2014:
- Insurers can no longer use health status to determine eligibility, benefits, or premiums
- Individuals and small businesses can choose from a range of private insurance plans through competitive marketplaces called Exchanges in their States and
- Annual dollar limits on coverage will be banned in group and new individual market plans, critical benefits will be covered, and out-of-pocket spending will be limited.
These new protections add to a strong set that have already been put in place to increase access to health care coverage for Americans with pre-existing conditions such as:
- Insurers can no longer limit lifetime coverage to a fixed dollar amount
- Insurers can no longer take away your coverage because of a mistake on an application
- Insurers can no longer deny coverage to a child because of a pre-existing condition
- Thousands of uninsured people with pre-existing conditions have enrolled in the temporary high-risk pool program called the Pre-existing Condition Insurance Plan, which has literally saved peoples lives by covering services like chemotherapy.
Rescinding the new health insurance protections would, now and starting in 2014:
Give Trumpcare A Break: Here Are All The Pre
On Thursday, House Republicans stood poised to overhaul the Affordable Care Act, including the pesky provision that protects terrible, sinful humans with pre-existing conditions.
Under the MacArthur-Meadows amendment, insurance providers will no longer be forced to cover Americans who made the mistake of being sick. States can now request waivers that will allow them to deny coverage to people with pre-existing conditions, which now includes sexual assault, domestic violence, and otherwise having a vagina.
Still, there are plenty of conditions that Trumpcare covers — they’re just being ignored by haters in the mainstream media.
Here’s a look at the extensive list of pre-existing conditions Trumpcare will actually cover.
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What Does An Executive Order Actually Do
President Trumps executive order essentially means he says he is committed to protecting people with preexisting condition without putting anything real into effect, explains Tara Sklar, JD, MPH, a professor of health law at University of Arizonas James E. Rogers College of Law.
In order to guarantee insurance companies wont reject or increase prices for people with preexisting health conditions, there needs to be a law.
You need a law to protect access to health insurance coverage for Americans with preexisting conditions, and we have a law it is called the Affordable Care Act, Sklar said.
Without a law, an executive order cannot force an insurance providers to cover preexisting conditions.
An executive order essentially lays out a goal, but it doesnt make anything concrete, says Dr. Daniel B. Fagbuyi, an emergency physician and Obama administration biodefense and public health advisor.
This executive order is basically meaningless and has no legal effect, says Sklar.
Trump Claims He ‘saved Pre
President Trump misrepresented his administrations health care record while disputing the premise of a campaign ad by Democratic presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg.
Mini Mike Bloomberg is spending a lot of money on False Advertising, wrote Trump in a series of tweets Monday morning. I was the person who saved Pre-Existing Conditions in your Healthcare, you have it now, while at the same time winning the fight to rid you of the expensive, unfair and very unpopular Individual Mandate and, if Republicans win in court and take back the House of Represenatives, your healthcare, that I have now brought to the best place in many years, will become the best ever, by far. I will always protect your Pre-Existing Conditions, the Dems will not!
Trumps win in court reference is about a lawsuit, backed by the Justice Department, that if successful would result in the overturning of the Affordable Care Act . If that happens, many Americans with preexisting conditions could lose their coverage entirely or face significantly higher premiums, unless and until an alternative is passed. Without protections for preexisting conditions provided by Obamacare, the Kaiser Family Foundation estimated in 2015 that up to 52 million people could be denied coverage. Others would lose insurance if the Medicaid expansion that was adopted by dozens of states and D.C. was killed. A full repeal with no immediate replacement plan could also hurt the fight against opioid addiction and HIV.
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A Higher Proportion Of People With Employer
The percentage of people with pre-existing conditions varies by insurance status with the highest rates among those with employer-sponsored insurance, ranging from 21 to 54 percent . Generally, pre-existing conditions matter less for people insured through employers that have a large risk pool and can therefore spread the cost of workers illnesses or injuries. In addition, some insurance protections already exist for people changing jobs.
However, 32 to 82 million people with both health problems and job-based coverage would be vulnerable without the new law. Increasingly, employers have used annual and lifetime limits on benefits to keep their health insurance costs down. In 2009, roughly 94 million Americans were in employer-sponsored insurance with a lifetime limit.11 The new health reform law has already banned lifetime limits in private insurance and has restricted annual limits for group and new individual market plans before banning such limits in 2014. This protects workers and their dependents with health conditions, whose coverage may have otherwise run out with a serious accident, disease that involves intense care, or other high-cost illness.
