It’s been the biggest question asked for the last few weeks now. No, not “who is going to win the Super Bowl?” What many are currently asking is, “what Healthcare changes can we expect with Trump’s presidency?” That’s it, the million-dollar question or really, the multi-billion dollar question. With President Trump now firmly seated in office, we can expect a variety of healthcare changes to occur during his presidency.
While Trump recently signed an executive order dedicated to “minimizing the economic burden,” many still remain unsure of what changes this will entail. With Trump’s power, and a Republican advantage in the House and Senate, Trump could decide to make a few changes to try and strengthen the healthcare system, or he could decide to repeal it entirely and start over. Either way, here are a few healthcare changes Trump could implement immediately.
5 Possible Healthcare Changes
1. Clearly Define Benefits
Currently, the healthcare system lays out about 10 different benefits that Medicaid covers. However, many of these benefits are written vaguely, making it unclear just how much aid insurers have to provide. Many agree that a better alternative would be to list a variety of benefits and allow private insurers to pick exactly which benefits they would be willing to provide.
This healthcare change would allow insurers more flexibility to choose how to provide healthcare, and it would allow customers to shop around and find the best possible plan that suits his or her needs. However, many fear that this could grant insurers the power to cover less and less, putting a greater financial burden on healthcare customers. President Trump will have to carefully monitor the situation if healthcare does, in fact, become privatized.
2. Eliminate Cost Sharing
One of the biggest fears that many people have is that a new healthcare initiative will eliminate the cost-sharing reductions. These reductions essentially reward insurance companies for keeping health-insurance cost down for low-income customers. With Obamacare implemented, these reductions affected over 60 percent of those on Medicaid. If Trump chooses to do so, he could eliminate the cost-sharing program, leaving many customers forced to pay higher prices.
Despite the impending issue, Trump and many members of Congress say that the money spent on cost sharing would be put towards lowering the cost of insurance for everyone. These health care changes could go into effect in as shortly as one week, leaving many wearily eyeing the headlines.
3. The Mandate
Another major health care change that Trump could implement would be to completely get rid of the healthcare mandate. The mandate, which requires all citizens to have some sort of healthcare, has been highly controversial. Many feel like the Affordable healthcare Act is not so affordable after all. If Trump gets rid of the mandate, and more importantly the penalties that come with the mandate, this could prevent millions of dollars being taken away from U.S. citizens.
While many fear that getting rid of the ACA altogether, there’s no question that it could financially benefit those who are currently being penalized.
4. Planned Parenthood
Out of all the healthcare changes that are looming, the defunding of Planned Parenthood could have the most impact. Many believe that President Trump will choose to defund Planned Parenthood and get rid of free birth control. This past weekend we saw just how much of an issue this could cause with the Women’s March. This demonstration showed just how big of an impact these health care changes could have on the U.S.
5. Get Rid of Info
One of the easiest healthcare changes Trump could make would be to eliminate some of the information found on government websites. It’s already known that pages on climate change have been removed from the White House website, so it would be no surprise if Trump decides to remove information on the ACA, Planned Parenthood, and other healthcare initiatives. This could happen at any time, so it’s important to keep an eye on the information presented on government websites.
