'Republicans in no-win position' as Trump pushes health plan that would 'freeze out' many
A proposed healthcare plan from the Trump administration would "freeze out a lot of people", a political commentator has warned.
The repeal of Affordable Care Act so people can "negotiate and buy their own, much better, insurance," has caused controversy within the GOP and beyond as Trump looks to adapt to the expiration of the ACA subsidies. Everyday Americans are now facing a "massive spike" in costs to their health insurance, according to The Atlantic's James Surowiecki.
Trump's approach to healthcare was dubbed "shortsighted" and it was said that the president is incapable of making "complicated" decisions. Surowiecki wrote, "Trump’s taken a similarly shortsighted approach to health insurance. The impending expiration of many Affordable Care Act subsidies at the end of the year means that lots of Americans face a massive spike in their health-insurance costs."
"That has focused the public’s attention on the outrageous cost of health care more generally. Figuring out how to make insurance affordable for healthy young people while also guaranteeing reasonable insurance prices for older Americans and people with pre-existing conditions is an incredibly complicated problem. Trump doesn’t do complicated."
While the plan may "sound good", Surowiecki has observed a crucial problem. They explained, "...it is hard to see how this plan would help a 55-year-old man with diabetes secure affordable insurance. Instead, it seems like a great way to freeze out a lot of people from the health-insurance market entirely."
Members of the GOP have already aired their concern over the ACA expiry and subsequent replacement service. Mike Lilis of The Hill suggested this is a "no-win position" for the administration.
Lillis wrote, "The deadline has put Republican leaders into a no-win position: If they extend the tax credits, they’ll go on record for the first time augmenting a Democratic law they deem noxious while infuriating a conservative base that’s spent more than 15 years trying to kill it.
"If they don’t, the out-of-pocket health costs for millions of people will skyrocket heading into next year’s midterm elections, when Republicans are already at risk of losing control of the House." Lillis went on to suggest this impasse is the reason the White House delayed its announcement on Monday for the subsidy extension.