The economy is booming. Everyone at every level is excited about rising opportunities in virtually every industry. While the tax cuts played a huge roll, Trump got things moving before the GOP finally pitched in. With targeted deregulation, he set the economy ablaze last year.
In the meantime, Congress completely failed to tackle Obamacare. President Trump already started taking matters into his own hands, so now we’ll have to see if his economic success can be applied to health care.
The Current State
You don’t need to be told what a disaster Obamacare is. It has single handedly tripled the overall cost of health care since it was signed into law. Insurance premiums and deductibles have skyrocketed. Even though the number of insured individuals is way up, the total percentage of insured cost is down by about half since 2010.
Insurance failures are rampant, and very few insurers are left on the government exchanges. At this point 75 percent of doctors and specialists refuse at least one insurer on their state’s exchange. Many refuse all of them. Despite its praise from the left, Obamacare has reduced access to health care, and it has lowered life expectancy for every single American.
Changes So Far
Even in the face of catastrophe, President Trump has already made progress. In 2017, the rate of cost increases slowed down for the first time since the exchanges opened. This was the result of targeted deregulation that has a chance to make bigger strides in 2018.
You already know that the GOP killed the mandate in the tax overhaul, and that has helped. The biggest changes happened when Trump signed an executive order last October. The first thing it did was reduce regulatory differences across state lines. It didn’t fully eliminate them, but many more policies have been able to cross the lines. This increased competition and lowered premiums.
Trump also slashed restrictions that made it difficult for small and mid-sized businesses to negotiate company policies the way larger corporations do.
The biggest change in that executive order was to short-term limited duration insurance (STLDI). He raised the maximum length of these policies from 3 months to 12 months, and he made them more universally available.
STLDI plans, due to their short duration, are more flexible than other insurance policies. That enables them to accommodate various age, health and social restrictions that longer policies can’t handle. They tend to be far cheaper than any other policies without sacrificing coverage because they are so adaptable. Making them more accessible was the biggest change that slashed healthcare costs last year, and that only happened in October. STLDIs are fast restructuring the insurance game in 2018, and their potential is far from tapped.
The Next Steps
Trump wants to accelerate his targeted deregulation that started last year. He wants to expand on STLDI plans by making them renewable. He also wants true universal availability so everyone has additional options in their policies. He also wants them to be available as Medicare and Medicaid alternatives.
There are two important parts to this. First, STLDI plans are not heavily subsidized, so they create market pressure that is good for consumers. Second, their adaptability makes them good for customers regardless of station, so there are effective STLDI plans for every single American. The increased competition will force insurers away from the rigors of Obamacare and move the healthcare system back towards free-market principles.
Trump is also trying to remove restrictions on association health plans (AHPs). These are the plans that large companies use to get cheaper policies for their employees. The changes in mind would enable smaller businesses to pool their resources and create associations. Even individuals could band together as an associate and bargain for better group policies.
Outside of insurance, Trump is also working to deregulate healthcare from a supply side. FDA changes have already made it easier to approve new medication and treatments. In fact, 2017 set a record on both fronts.
Trump is also trying to remove barriers that prevent nurse practitioners from carrying more responsibility. They can cover the doctor shortage and regularly offer the same level of care at a significantly reduced price.
Most importantly, Trump is working with Congress to make healthcare pricing more visible. This would enable non-emergency care to be comparison shopped. Just like you look around for the best deal on items you buy, you could get a competitive deal on preventative and maintenance care.
Overall, the strategy is expected to bring down the relative cost of health care for the first time in over a decade. If even half of these changes go into effect, the next two years could finally reverse the declining life expectancy in our country. Obviously, the Democrats will kick, scream and fight the whole way. They would rather see good people die than Trump have success in the White House.
~ American Liberty Report
