Trump’s First 100 Days: Obamacare Order

For the next 100 days, we’ll be breaking down President Trump's new policies.  We’ll cover what he does and how it affects Ohio. On Friday, Trump signed an executive order on Obamacare into action.  Let’s break it down:

The text:

" It is the policy of my Administration to seek the prompt repeal of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Public Law 111-148), as amended (the "Act")...In the meantime, pending such repeal...  prepare to afford the States more flexibility and control to create a more free and open healthcare market....the Secretary of Health and Human Services (Secretary) and the heads of all other executive departments..shall exercise all authority and discretion available to them to waive, defer, grant exemptions from, or delay the implementation of any provision...that would impose a fiscal burden on any State or a cost, fee, tax, penalty, or regulatory burden on individuals, families, healthcare providers......the head of each department or agency with responsibilities relating to healthcare or health insurance shall encourage the development of a free and open market in interstate commerce for the offering of healthcare services... DONALD J. TRUMPTHE WHITE HOUSE,January 20, 2017." 

What it means:

Trump has given federal agencies the ability to waive parts of the law that they deem too costly for insurers. If you’re wondering what exactly this will mean in practice, you’re not alone.  

“Right off the bat, what do they do — something incredibly cryptic that nobody understands.”That’s Rodney Whitlock, speaking to the New York Times.  Whitlock used to advise Senator Chuck Grassley on health policy.  What the order means for Ohio in the short-term is that the state has more control over how it implements the law.  Trump ordered the federal agencies to give states more power in health care policy.  Gov. John Kasich (in)famously expanded Medicaid coverage through Obamacare in 2013, so for the moment Obamacare doesn’t seem to be threatened in Ohio.The most important takeaway from this executive order is that on day one, Trump has began to dismantle Obamacare piece by piece with this order being the first piece in a long fight.