While a Trump plan mayhelp him make the case to voters in 2020 that he has an alternativeto the ACA, it is unlikely that Congress will act to implementanything he proposes. (Photo: Shutterstock)
White House officials are preparing a health care plan for PresidentTrump to unveil in the coming months.
|Administration officials say the plan is not final. It willlikely include ideas that have long been popular among Republicans,such as allowing health plans to operate across state lines, expanding healthsavings accounts and reduced requirements for insurance plans.
|It may also propose providing funds to states to set uphigh-risk insurance pools for those with serious medicalconditions. Such pools existed in many states before the AffordableCare Act barred insurers from denying coverage based on preexistingconditions.
|Related: ACA winning out over Medicare for All amongDemocrat voters
|Republicans are eager to show the president is doing somethingon health care. Not only are Democrats proposing a variety of waysto expand coverage –– notably Medicare for All –– but they have been accusingRepublicans of trying to end coverage for millions through theirefforts to thwart the Affordable Care Act, which is now morepopular than ever.
|The Trump administration’s support for a lawsuit that seeks tooverturn the Affordable Care Act has put Republicans on thedefensive on health care. If the lawsuit succeeds, millions couldlose health coverage and insurers would once again be allowed todeny coverage to those based on their health.
|Elizabeth Warren, in a debate in Detroit earlier this week,summarized the issue in blunt partisan terms: “We are theDemocrats. We are not about trying to take away health care fromanyone. That’s what the Republicans are trying to do.”
|The lawsuit is being led by several Republican state attorneysgeneral, who argue that the 2017 tax bill that eliminated the ACA’sindividual mandate renders the rest of the law unconstitutional. Alower court surprised legal observers by ruling in favor of theattorneys general and two members of a three-judge appeals panel inearly July signaled support for the lawsuit, although the panel hasnot yet ruled on the case.
|While a Trump plan may help him make the case to voters in 2020that he has an alternative to the ACA, it is unlikely that Congresswill act to implement anything he proposes, since the House ofRepresentatives is controlled by Democrats.
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