Late on Thursday, President Trump signed an executive order related to Obamacare. He mentioned that the order would play an important role in saving Americans from the Obamacare nightmare. This has led to many people to ask numerous questions about what the executive order means. But what do we know about the executive order at the moment?
Has the Obamacare been repealed?
As the president signed the executive order, he lamented that he has been hearing about repeal-replace since his administration got into power. He said that the order was the starting point of the repeal and replacement. However, if this is the starting point according to the president, it’s merely a ceremonial one. What we know is that the Affordable Care Act is still the law of the land. In fact, none of the proposed changes will take effect in the near future. All that may result is high insurance premiums for the people who use the Obamacare and lower premiums for the people who use other insurance premiums. As a result, major insurers will stop offering some of their services in some markets. However, other rules of the Obamacare are intact. This includes Medicaid expansion to the poor adults and subsidies that assist middle-income people in acquiring it. While the executive order may result in some changes, it’s not the same as changing the law.
Has any law been changed?
The answer to this question is no. People should not confuse an executive order with the force of the law. The executive order is just a way of asking the three federal agencies in charge to establish new regulations as they try to reach their goals. Like in any other sector where it takes time before a new law takes effect, the same is expected to take some few months before it can be implemented.
Will people who get insurance from work be affected?
For those that receive their coverage from a large company, they will not feel the effects. However, the new executive order will make it easier for your employer to give you the pretax money so that you can buy your own insurance if you wish. This executive order, however, is likely to affect people who work for small companies. In this order, there is a section that orders the Labor Department to work on rules that make it possible for small companies to join hands and buy premiums as one big entity.