***NEWS RELEASE***
President Trump’s Health Care EO Full of ‘Potential’ Commitments and Suggestions to ‘Consider’
Citizens’ Council for Health Freedom: Stopping Cost-Sharing Reduction Subsiding and Ending ‘Special Contributions’ to Congress Will Help Unravel the Affordable Care Act Once and For All
ST. PAUL, Minn.—President Donald Trump signed an executive order today that, according to the White House, seeks to “improve access, increase choices and lower costs for health care.”
Citizens’ Council for Health Freedom (CCHF, www.cchfreedom.org) president and co-founder Twila Brase said CCHF appreciates President Trump’s determination to unravel the Affordable Care Act, but his document lacks the “meat” necessary to make real changes in today’s health care landscape.
“The executive order, as discussed in the White House release,” Brase said, “establishes a vision for moving toward health freedom and affordability, however, it appears to be less of a directive and more of a strong suggestion.
“Nothing in this order is a guarantee of any changes,” she continued. “In the White House release, we count six uses of the word ‘potentially’ and three uses of the word ‘consider.’ The Departments need only to consider whether they’ll expand access to Association Health Plans, expand coverage through short-term insurance or make changes to allow more access to Health Reimbursement Accounts. Furthermore, because the executive order prohibits AHPs from underwriting for health status, they could not offer true insurance to Americans, the affordable major medical policies for financially and medically catastrophic injuries and illnesses that the individual does not yet have.
“The most effective way President Trump could begin unravelling the Affordable Care Act is by simply stopping the unconstitutional cost-sharing reduction subsidies and cutting off the illegal ‘special contributions’ that only Congress and staffers receive to pay for the high price of their Obamacare coverage,” Brase concluded. “A vote by Congress to repeal the ACA would more likely follow that kind of executive decision.”
For more information about CCHF, visit www.cchfreedom.org, its Facebook page or its Twitter feed @CCHFreedom. Also view the media page for CCHF here. For more about CCHF’s initiative The Wedge of Health Freedom, visit www.JointheWedge.com, The Wedge Facebook page or follow The Wedge on Twitter @wedgeoffreedom.
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