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President Trump May Issue Executive Order on Obamacare

  • Amanda Casanova

    Amanda Casanova is a writer living in Dallas, Texas. She has covered news for ChristianHeadlines.com since 2014. She has also contributed to The Houston Chronicle, U.S. News and World Report and…

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  • Updated Oct 11, 2017

The executive order on Obamacare from President Donald Trump is worrying supporters of the healthcare law.

Trump’s executive order is expected this week and would allow businesses and other groups to buy health insurance together.

Critics are worried those health plans would not be regulated by the same rules as Obamacare plans, such as the law that people with pre-existing conditions are protected.

Trump’s order could make plans cheaper for healthier people, while the Obamacare marketplace would be used primarily for sicker people. Eventually, that could cause a hike in premium costs, according to TheHill.com.

“If this executive order is anything like the rumors then it could have a huge impact on stability of the individual insurance market,” said Larry Levitt, a health policy expert at the Kaiser Family Foundation.

Supporters of Trump’s executive order say it would free up the healthcare marketplace and actually, lower prices for Americans.

Allowing people more affordable arrangements is not a bad thing,” said Kevin Kuhlman, director of government relations at the National Federation of Independent Businesses.

Association health plans, where people are able to band together to purchase a plan, already exist, but Trump’s change could allow them to get around Obamacare rules.

The changes “will lead to less [insurers] playing in this market and potentially a sicker risk pool which translates to higher premiums,” said Kevin Lucia, a professor at Georgetown University’s Center for Health Insurance Reforms.

 

Photo courtesy: Getty Images

Publication date: October 11, 2017