Trump Signs Vague Order to Begin Dismantling Obamacare

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Let it sink in. Photo: Pool/Getty Images

wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Shortly after his inaugural parade on Friday, President Donald Trump signed his first executive order, directing federal agencies to “ease the burden of Obamacare.” The order is vague, and has no immediate effect on the health care system. But it paves the way for the weakening of the Affordable Care Act, and signals that Trump will fulfill his campaign promise to make dismantling the health law one of his administration’s top priorities.
The order says that until Congress can repeal Obamacare fully, the Trump administration will “take all actions consistent with law to minimize the unwarranted economic and regulatory burdens” of the law and “prepare to afford the States more flexibility and control to create a more free and open healthcare market.”
It goes on to direct the heads of all executive departments and agencies “exercise all authority and discretion available to them to waive, defer, grant exemptions from, or delay the implementation” provisions in the ACA that “would impose a fiscal burden on any State or a cost, fee, tax, penalty, or regulatory burden on individuals, families, healthcare providers, health insurers, patients, recipients of healthcare services, purchasers of health insurance, or makers of medical devices, products, or medications.”












Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx The Trump administration declined to explain what that means, and as the Washington Post notes, “In general, federal rules cannot be undone with a penstroke but require a new rule-making process to replace or delete them.” But the order means that federal agencies could try to ease enforcement or penalties pertaining to certain aspects of the law, such as the individual and employer mandates, or requirements that insurers include certain benefits in health plans.
Medicaid is not mentioned specifically, but providing the states “greater flexibility” could mean that rules will be loosened for states that expanded the program to cover low-income Americans.
On Friday evening experts were still trying to determine what effect the order might have