Posted on 07/30/2017 10:00:48 PM PDT by be-baw
President Trump is spoiling for war against the health insurance industry, and his administration made two threats over the weekend that insurers say would wreck the markets:
On Twitter, the President threatened to end so-called "bailouts" for health insurance companies — referring to payments the government makes to insurers so they can make insurance less costly for low-income people (as they're required to do).
Health and Human Services secretary Tom Price suggested on ABC's "This Week" that he might make more people exempt from the requirement to buy health insurance. Insurers say this could make premiums even costlier.
Why this matters: It may sound like good politics for a populist Republican president to end "bailouts" for big bad insurance companies, but the potential consequences are alarming. If Trump follows through on his Twitter-threat, insurers would dramatically raise prices – shredding the final layers of duct tape holding together the ACA insurance markets.
Most health insurers, and their main trade group AHIP, have been super cautious so far, doing whatever they can to avoid fights with the White House. But if Trump follows through on his hot rhetoric — he described the payments to insurers as "ransom money" — they'll be forced to defend themselves. And it could get ugly.
While some administration officials (cough, Steve Bannon) believe it's smart politics, as a rule, for Trump to stick it to Big Business, others are nervous about what the insurers might do to retaliate. Kellyanne Conway said on "Fox News Sunday" that Trump will decide this week whether to cut off the payments.
For example: as soon as next month, insurers could easily raise their rates again for next year and blame it on Trump's threat to take away the subsidies. (That would hit a lot of Trump voters in red states.)
Trump argues the ACA is already imploding, so the administration might as well let it happen rather than prop up a failing system. But Price is more cautious, and the administration as a whole hasn't decided what to do about the ACA markets.
What's next: Now that the left has defeated the Republicans on repeal-and-replace, the progressive resistance is channeling its energies into protesting any Trump administration actions to "sabotage" the ACA.
Progressive activist Jesse Ferguson, a Hillary alum, emails me: "It's expected that the side who loses a legislative fight is the one who mobilizes in response. What's remarkable is that the reverse is happening. In the 48 hours since progressives won the repeal vote, there were more than 170 rallies and events all over the country to fight back against repeal and sabotage." Watch for a five week long, 18-state bus tour — funded by groups like Planned Parenthood and AFSCME — to hammer vulnerable Republicans who voted to repeal-and-replace the ACA.
However, an EO rescinding the exemption for members of Congress and their staffs would be entirely appropriate.
Congress is refusing to repeal it, so torch it bigly.
Force the Congress to fix it.
>>I doubt that Trump will end the payoffs to the insurance companies anytime soon despite his threats.<<
Both Eos would put a huge amount of pressure on the Congress. Finally, it would be the President calling the shots.
It’s the health insurance industry that has a claim to 16-18% of the US economy. That claim and the people who enforce it, eg; Congress, are well bought and paid for. They won’t give up that franchise in any easy way.
Yep. Big money has been paid for the right to rape the middle class.
The article is fake news incarnate - the government was only required to support the health insurance companies for any short falls (and that term is loosely defined) within the first 8 years of its running (I.E. Obamas term) that time is just up next year and, gursss what, the law hasn’t changed.
Seicbdly - I find it hypocritical that his journalist, so-called, who rails against big oil and Comcast and other mega corps for subverting government suddenly is all FOR mega corps when it comes to health insurance.
Go fig.
The insurance companies want money then they will stop selling. The EO Obama used to gives the money to the companies is not legal.
Good move. It’s the health insurance industry that bought off most of congress on Obamacare.
Trump is completely decimating the Dem party. He took blue collar Union voters away. Now he’s making Dems defend big insurance corps and big pharma. Some Bernie bots are not going to like that. Trump is going to hammer Schumer for wanting to give $$ bailouts to big fat Insurers whose CEOs make upwards of 50 mil a year.
Axios is a crap source. Right up there with CNN
The health insurance industry declared war on the American populous first.
Trump should refuse to bail them out.
If McDonalds can sell something with a meals worth of calories for two bucks, then insurance companies can be forced to offer some low cost plans for the poor. No need for bail out. They can make their money on their more luxe packages,
Wreck em! Enforce Title 15 too!!!
Sounds like mostly leftist double-speak to me.
It would be great if he took away the exemptions for congress, the Unions, and the others who had connections with the last Admin. Make them live with the same laws they make other live under.
It should be like that anyway across the board. There should not be one single law congress is exempt from that we the people have to live under. Period.
...”However, an EO rescinding the exemption for members of Congress and their staffs would be entirely appropriate.”...
YES! If this is not done, there is no justice for the American people and I know that this President is for the common man and not the elites who manipulate everything for their own benefit. The middle class must not be allowed to disappear to allow the Swamp to live under laws different from those we live under. The President should address this today. Eliminate their gold plated heath insurance coverage. Make John McCain, who is extremely wealthy throught his wife, live under the same policy that “Joe and Jane Doe” live under in his situation. Thank God, people are finally beginning to awaken to the corruption of our career politicians. Thank God, we have an outsider President who understands this. He may have some faults but he puts the 99% first above the 1% who get rich from manipulating tax payer dollars. If this swamp is to be cleaned and fumigated, clean up this travesty and then get to term limits which have led to the deep state we are under.
The ACA was touted as perfection when it passed: rigid mandates combined with administrative discretion. Not one Republican agreed.
Obama exempted millions from its requirements and jiggled the Office of Personnel Management to subsidize Congressional employees’ ACA costs.
What could possibly need fixing at this point? This is a Democrat creature, let it devour its creator.
This is very interesting intelligence!
So protecting the insurance companies goes away next year!
Great. At least time is on our side.
If we’d just look at ourselves, our families, relatives, etc. Why? The answer is we’d see the vast difference in people under age 68-70 plus or so compared to 1975-80 and earlier. Frankly, I do not recall even 1/4th as many huge/ obese people in around 1990 as there are now. Several years ago, before I quit getting care at the local VA and switched to BCBS, I was in the VA ER waiting room. Across from me was a Gulf War Vet and his son. The Vet was about 5’ 9” and 280. His son who was about 30 overlapped the armchair everywhere. He confided that he was an electrician for the city. He said he weighed 360 or 380. He hoped to lose weight to be able to work on a project with smaller spaces. My wife’s daughter has to be close to 300 when I saw her Saturday. I see more older females over 180-200 lbs. now then the 135-160 my mother and my grandmothers got to when the got older. I don’t see kids play outdoors. I see none playing catch, throwing a football, or doing any yardwork, etc. About 1/3 of this nation is to damn obese to qualify for health insurance. We desperately need to PE in schools, parents to get more involved and lead by example. A nation this fat could not hump the bush in Vietnam like we did in in 65-70. These folks ride up and down MSR’s and other roads. SAD.
Who is Jonathan Swan David Nather and why should we care what he babbles on about? Seems like anyone with a PC and a agenda can be a “reporter” these days.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.