Changes to Obamacare

One of Obama’s most significant accomplishments during his 8-year presidency was the creation of the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare. And now that Donald Trump is taking over, he has already made it clear that he plans to drastically change that.

Initially, Trump said that he wanted to completely get rid of Obamacare. But recently, in an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Trump stated that he wants to keep some of the popular parts of Obamacare.

Those two parts are ensuring coverage for people with preexisting medical conditions and allowing children to stay on their parents’ plan until they are 26.

Last year, 20% of uninsured Americans skipped necessary medical care because of the cost.

Obama has stated that he would support Trump’s decision to reform Obamacare if it improved health care and insured more people.

One group of people who are especially nervous about what Trump will decide to do is entrepreneurs. These people rely on Obamacare because they aren’t in a corporate job that offers health care benefits. Should their health care change drastically, that could mean a return to corporate positions and a major decrease in start-ups, small family-owned businesses, farming, etc.

In order for Trump to make the changes to Obamacare, it would need to be approved by the Senate and House of Representatives. And for the first time in a decade, Republicans control all the White House, Senate, and House of Representatives. And Republicans are the ones who want to see changes or removal of Obamacare.

The good news is, people already enrolled for 2017 would be protected until 2019. And for that, we can thank a reconciliation bill that Congress passed last year which provides a two year buffer before any Obamacare provision are applied.