With the election of Donald Trump many things have changed. The entire paradigm of the USA is going to be reviewed and altered in many ways. Such changes concern foreign policies, domestic affairs, social policies and of course health care system. During his rule ex-president Barack Obama introduced a health care system now known as ObamaCare. It is a set of laws concerning all health care issues. But now with the election of Donald Trump new changes are coming. In first weeks of his being elected Trump and his team stated that they are going to repeal and replace existing ObamaCare. It was the inception of what is now called TrumpCare. It is worth mentioning that TrumpCare is not yet a legitimate act, it is just a set of laws to be passed in order to change ObamaCare.
American society is now divided into two major groups: those who support TrumpCare and those who are sceptic about it, of course. Before judging that new system it would be better to understand the basis of it, to render the ideas it proposes and how it is going to influence citizens of the United States. There are some key points about TrumpCare.
It repeals the individual mandate (the tax penalty for not having Health Insurance Coverage). Under Obamacare, the individual mandate requires all eligible citizens to have health insurance, which makes coverage affordable nationwide, while the individual mandate will be eliminated under TrumpCare, thus giving people a chance to decide if they want to have insurance or not.
Provides coverage for those with pre-existing conditions. As Trump had mentioned, he likes requirements of the ACA, but coverage may become more expensive under this plan.
Allows children to stay on Parents Plan until they are 26. The idea is pretty clear, some people consider it to be a con, though.
Medicaid expansion is not impacted until 2020. For now it is the major point in the plan. Trump had mentioned that they are going to freeze Medicaid expansion, but the period of execution is significantly delayed.
Replaces subsidies with refundable Tax Credits. It was also mentioned that people may be able to deduct the entire cost of health insurance premiums from their federal tax.
Removes the 3.8% Tax on individuals earning more than $250,000 a year. Actually, it is more than removing that tax but removing the compulsory tax for employers to take care of their full-time employees. This one is a very controversial as it seems to be a “win” for higher-income Americans and businesses.
Places more focus on encouraging people to open Health Savings Accounts. This point seems to be quite smart, though saving account would already exist. It is hard to state whether it is good or not as people with those saving accounts are to spend thousands each year.
All in all, there are still many ideas stated by President Trump and his team. It is impossible to cover all of them, as they are still in draft and their development is an ongoing process, the result of which will be seen much later, probably after 2020 after the total freezing of Medicaid. By now we can only judge from our own perspectives and perception.
References:
- Greve, Bent. “Introduction – Obamacare – Implication For Social Policy And Administration In The United States”. Social Policy & Administration 50.4 (2016): 425-427. Web.
- Leimbigler, Betsy and Christian Lammert. “Why Health Care Reform Now? Strategic Framing And The Passage Of Obamacare”. Social Policy & Administration 50.4 (2016): 467-481. Web.
- Lyon, Jeff. “Fixing Obamacare Takes Back Seat, Poll Finds”. JAMA 316.22 (2016): 2348. Web.
- “Debating Obamacare”. Chemistry & Industry 76.9 (2012): 23-23. Web.
- Kamerow, Douglas. “What Now For Obamacare?”. BMJ (2016): i6063. Web.
- Yelowitz, Aaron. “Obamacare: A Bad Deal For Young Adults”. SSRN Electronic Journal n. pag. Web.
- Kamerow, Douglas. “There’S More To Obamacare Than Health Insurance”. BMJ (2017): j338. Web.
- Bringedal, Berit. “Obamacare”. Tidsskrift for Den norske legeforening 136.18 (2016): 1571-1571. Web.