What Is Trump Doing With Healthcare

Federal Policy On Healthcare 2017

President Donald Trump‘s main healthcare policy initiative has been working to fulfill his campaign promise to repeal and replace the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act , commonly known as Obamacare. He expressed his support for the House and Senate bills that proposed modifying parts of the ACA. The House passed its billthe American Health Care Act of 2017but members of the Senate have been unable to agree on a final replacement plan, leaving most of the provisions of the ACA in place. Republicans did take one step towards changing the ACA by eliminating the law’s individual mandate, which took effect in January 2019.

In October 2017, the Trump administration took actions to modify the ACA. Trump issued an executive order directing members of his Cabinet to create rules that would allow small businesses to collectively buy health insurance through association health plans, expand short-term health coverage, and expand the use of Health Reimbursement Arrangements . The order did not make direct changes to existing health insurance rules instead, it directed agencies to consider new rules that would be subject to a notice and comment period.

This page outlines major events and policy positions of the Trump administration on healthcare. Click on the timeline below to learn more about each headline.

Vice President Mike Pence

Pence on the BCRA

• During a speech in Cleveland, Ohio, on June 28, 2017, Pence discussed the BCRA. He said, “The bill repeals Obamacares mandates and taxes on the American people and American business. It restores freedom and saves jobs. The legislation being considered in the Senate expands health savings accounts, offers tax credits to help you buy the coverage that you need at a price you can afford. And the bill ensures that every American with preexisting conditions has access to the coverage and the care that they need — no exceptions. And the Senates bill reforms — like the House bill, the Senates bill reforms and strengthens Medicaid for the people who need it most. This legislation will give states like Ohio the freedom and flexibility that your governor and your legislature need to be able to style Medicaid here in Ohio to meet the needs of the most vulnerable in the way that works best in Ohio — because this President believes in state-based solutions, not one-size-fits-all-Washington answers to the challenges we face. And Im also pleased that the Senate bill addresses something that hits close to home right here in the Midwest and here in Ohio, and that is the scourge of opioid abuse and addiction.”

Pence on the AHCA

Pence on the ACA

Pence on healthcare

May 10 201: Cms Publishes Federal Rule Requiring Pharmaceutical Companies To List Drug Prices In Television Ads

On May 10, 2019, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services , an agency within the Department of Health & Human Services , published a rule that required pharmaceutical companies to include the list price, also known as the wholesale acquisition cost, of certain prescription drugs in television advertisements. The requirement applied to medicine covered by Medicare or Medicaid and did not apply to drugs with a cost of $35 or less.

According to the summary of the final rule published in the Federal Register, the rule was intended to make Medicare and Medicaid administration more efficient by giving beneficiaries of the programs more information about the costs of drugs. CMS argued that the new rule would use public scrutiny to pressure manufacturers into lowering drug prices and would equip patients to make more informed healthcare decisions. Under the rule, television advertisements for prescription drugs were required to state the cost for a 30-day supply. The rule was to go into effect on July 9, 2019.

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May 11 201: Trump Administration Unveils Drug Pricing Plan

WhiteHouse.gov

On May 11, 2018, President Donald Trump released his administrations plan to lower drug prices. While introducing the plan, Trump said, Under this administration, we are putting American patients first. Ive instructed Secretary Azar to begin moving forward on reforms that will bring soaring drug prices back down to earth. Our plan takes steps to derail the gravy train for special interests by ending Obamacares twisted incentives that actually encourage higher drug prices.

The plan included the following, according to a White House fact sheet:

Sen. Ron Wyden , the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, criticized the plan, saying, Theyre breathing a sigh of relief in pharmaceutical board rooms across the country. Its still open season for drug companies to set astronomical prices that families cant afford.

Heres Whats On Bidens Health Care Checklist:

Saving and strengthening the Affordable Care Act: The central theme of Bidens health care campaign, prior to the pandemic, was improving the Affordable Care Act. Though former President Donald Trump did not succeed in achieving his key 2016 pledge to repeal the law, his health officials made a multitude of changes to it. Reversing those will keep Bidens team busy.

Among the top priorities will likely be saving the law itself from being declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. The justices are currently considering a case brought of a coalition of Republican state attorneys general and backed by the Trump administration. It revolves around Congress reducing the penalty for not having health insurance to zero several years ago, which the states argue rendered the individual mandate unconstitutional and the entire law invalid.

The case will continue even if the Justice Department under Biden withdraws, because it originated with Texas and other Republican-led states. But the President-elect could work with the new Democratic majority in Congress to short circuit the GOP states legalargument by setting the penalty at a $1, for instance.

As for shoring up and building on the Affordable Care Act, Biden has plans big and small.

Biden may also want to institute a special enrollment period for Obamacare to allow the uninsured to sign up, which Trump refused to do last year.

It remains to be seen what Bidens Department of Health and Human Services will do with them.

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How Healthline Determined These Comparisons

The Healthline News team analyzed the healthcare policies and proposals of both presidential candidates to date.

We based our analysis on the published policy outlines on each candidates official website, as well as public statements made by the candidates and their administration and/or campaign.

From there, we worked with our independent panel of health policy experts and senior editorial team to present where each candidate stands on key healthcare issues.

Is This Like Trumpcare Promised On Trumps Website

Obviously, that isget rid of the mandates as it says on Trumps site, but that isntinsurance for everybody, and that isntnot letting them die in the streets.

In words, the plan doesnt include everything Trump promised by a long shot, but it does touch on many of his ideas as found on DonaldJTrump.com.

The GOP has also discussed future legislation that would allow insurers to sell across state lines and aimed to reduce litigation in healthcare, but that isnt in this bill.

However, again, that was only supposed to be phase 1 of 3, and regardless that plan didnt pass. No one knows what is coming next. With that in mind, Trump has said he generally supports it .

Here we should note that most of the good stuff cant be passed in a budget reconciliation rule, and it is, in fact, likely the Byrd rule will be used to whittle down the provisions that arent fully budget-related in the Senate.

Sorry for the long introduction, who knew healthcare could be so complicated?

Trump said, we arent going to let them die in the streets. He was talking about his plans to ensure everyone had access to care although the last plan he supported would have left 52 million on the streets.

TIP: For now the ACA is still the law of the land. With that said, one should expect a continued effort to pass provisions like those featured below in the near future.

NOTE: The current TrumpCare plan, the AHCA, has its pros and cons . See those pros and cons if you are interested.

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May 17 201: Cms Issues Guidance On Health Exchange Enrollment

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services issued guidance to allow insurers and insurance brokers to enroll individuals in ACA-compliant health plans without using the federal platform Healthcare.gov. This means that in addition to enrolling consumers in coverage, insurers and brokers could also determine eligibility for tax credits and reduced cost sharing. Previously, consumers would need to enroll through Healthcare.gov themselves, have a broker walk them through the site, or choose a plan through a brokers website before being redirected to Healthcare.gov for tax credit determinations.

The guidance memo stated that this action was intended to reduce what it deemed the regulatory burden on insurers and brokers who facilitate ACA health plan enrollment, and to stabilize the ACA risk pool by expanding enrollment. Larry Levitt, Senior Vice President for Special Initiatives at the Kaiser Family Foundation, said that the move could make the personal financial information of consumers more vulnerable as they provide it to various third parties.

Could Anyone Handle The Ultimate Backseat Driver

Would Trump be able to resist commenting multiple times per day on the primary and how the partys eventual nominee chose to take on President Joe Biden?

It would be very much on-brand for The Donald, whose entire political persona is based on an argument he is a once-in-a-generation mind, to become an irritant to the nominee by second-guessing every decision he or she makes in 2024.

Statements. Fox News call-ins to the highly rated primetime programs of commentators like Sean Hannity and others. Posts on his conservatives-only social media site.

The ultimate backseat driver would likely view himself as an unofficial campaign manager and one with the loudest megaphone in American politics.

Evan Siegfried, a Republican strategist, said Monday he expects several high-profile GOP figures namely: DeSantis, Pence and Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas, Tom Cotton of Arkansas and Josh Hawley of Missouri wont spend too much time dwelling on Trumps remark.

I think he was doing an interview and he was just riffing. Hes going to run if he chooses to run, Siegfried said. Other Republicans are going to run, even if he does run. There will be one or two who dont run if Trump does run. But there are others who will run regardless.

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Bidens Approach In Brief

• Would shift responsibility of the pandemic to the federal government.
• Has a seven-point plan to beat COVID-19, which includes ensuring access to free testing, increasing production of personal protective equipment , providing evidence-based guidance and resources on how communities can navigate the pandemic, a plan for equitable and effective distribution of treatment and potential vaccines, protecting older and high-risk Americans, rebuilding the countrys resources to defend against viral threats, and implementing mask mandates nationwide.
• Has pledged to put scientists and global health specialists front and center.
• Promised to expand COVID-19 relief to eliminate out-of-pocket costs for testing and treatment, increase Medicaid FMAP by at least 10 percent, and provide additional pay and PPE to essential workers.

Massive Cuts To Science And Medicine In Trump Budget

CMAJCopyright

The budget proposed by United States President Donald Trump calls for massive cuts to spending on medical and scientific research, public health and disease-prevention programs, and health insurance for low-income Americans and their children. It has drawn intense criticism from many corners, including scientists, physicians and politicians from both the Democratic and Republican parties. The only good thing about this horror of a budget, according to one pundit, is that it will likely get eviscerated in Congress.

Under the proposed budget, formally delivered to Congress yesterday, the National Institutes of Health would see its annual budget shrink 18% from $31.8 billion to $26 billion. This includes cuts to the National Cancer Institute , National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute , and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases .

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention would lose 17% of its budget, a cut of $1.2 billion. This news prompted former CDC Director Dr. Tom Frieden to and rebuke this assault on science that will devastate programs that protect Americans from many deadly conditions, including diabetes, heart attacks and strokes. He noted that the cuts would give the CDC its lowest budget in 20 years and lead to an increase in illness and deaths.

Deep cuts to science and medicine in Trump budget draw intense criticism.

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Bidencare Focuses On Lower

Bidencare would cover more Americans by increasing subsidized health insurance purchases through tax credits.

It would also offer a public option, allowing anyone who wants it to buy in, even if their job offers private insurance. Lower-income families shut out of ACAs expanded Medicaid eligibility because of where they live could get it premium-free.

Any boost to health and financial stability is likely to be biggest for millions of low-income households, particularly Latino and Black families who have been particularly hard-hit during the pandemic.

For these groups especially, says the University of Michigan School of Public Healths Helen Levy, being able to accumulate assets is really important if you think about supporting economic mobility.

Minorities get and die from COVID-19 at higher rates than whites, data shows. Some of that is probably because Blacks and Latinos are more likely to work in jobs that put them at higher risk of transmission.

But even without COVID-19, minorities face higher rates of chronic disease and earlier death than whites. They also have lower rates of health insurance despite substantial gains since the advent of the ACA, a study by Kaiser Family Foundation shows.

Biden said he would pay for his plan through higher taxes on the wealthy, and use the clout of expanded public insurance to keep down medical costs.

Increasing the number of insured Americans could have positive economic consequences.

What Is Trump’s Healthcare Plan It Looks A Lot Like Obamacare

• For years, Republicans have lambasted Obamacare, and promised that a full replacement for the Affordable Care Act is in the works.
• But more than 10 years after the ACA was signed into law, no major GOP replacement plan has surfaced.
• Trump’s administration has instituted incremental changes to the landmark healthcare law, and zeroed out the universal coverage mandate.
• Evidence suggests he would do more of the same if given a second term, largely leaving the ACA alone.
• Biden, if elected, would likely usher in a different set of tweaks to the law: he’s floated the ideas of a public option, and more health insurance tax credits available to middle- and upper-class Americans on ACA plans.

President Trump talks a lot about getting rid of President Obama’s landmark Affordable Care Act, which has extended health insurance to 20 million more Americans.

He often says he’ll be replacing that 2010 law with “something terrific” and/or “something great.”

But the truth is that Trump and Republicans in Congress haven’t unified behind replacing Obamacare at all.

Trump’s domestic policy chief Brooke Rollins recently told Business Insider that a backup for the ACA is still “being worked on.”

Ezekiel Emanuel, a health policy expert who was an architect of the original ACA in the Obama administration, is skeptical that any major Republican changes to his legislation are truly in the works.

Perhaps that’s because Republicans don’t really want to get rid of the whole ACA.

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A Summary Of Trumps Order And Hhs Regulations

The Trump Executive Order does little more than instructing the IRS not to enforce the mandates as harshly. The results are complex. See Trump Executive Order on the ObamaCare Mandates !

Unlike the Order, the Trump Administration HHS regulations change a lot.

In summary, the regulations:

• Make open enrollment shorter.

On the plus side, the deregulation will likely lower costs a bit for those full-time employees with higher incomes and health coverage who will remain at their job .

See Trump Administrations First Big ObamaCare Regulations Summary for more details.

If Your Time Is Short

• Trump is 74 years old and slightly obese. Both put him at greater risk of severe illness, with his age being the more important factor.
• Based on broad studies, 8% to 12% of people like him became severely ill with the disease.

President Donald Trumps announcement that he and first lady Melania Trump tested positive for the coronavirus added a powerful and unpredictable factor to the presidential election.

Trumps physician said that both are well at this time and plan to remain at home within the White House during their convalescence. White House chief of staff Mark Meadows told reporters that Trump is experiencing mild symptoms.

The great majority of people who test positive for the coronavirus suffer no or minor effects. Based on what we know now, the odds for Trump weathering COVID-19 are in his favor.

But Trump has two risk factors his age and his weight.

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House Bill: American Health Care Act Of 2017

On March 6, 2017, House Republicans introduced the American Health Care Act of 2017 , a reconciliation bill that proposed modifying the budgetary and fiscal provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act , also known as Obamacare. The bill did not propose repealing the ACA in its entirety, a move that was criticized by some conservatives who called for a full repeal of President Barack Obama‘s signature healthcare law.

The bill proposed repealing the penalties on individuals for not maintaining health coverage and on employers for not offering coverage. The ACA’s subsidies for purchasing insurance would have ended, as would have enhanced federal funding for states that expanded Medicaid. The bill also proposed a system of tax credits, based on age rather than income, and a penalty in the form of increased premiums for individuals who did not maintain continuous coverage.

On May 4, 2017, the House passed the AHCA by a vote of 217-213.