President Trump Unveils Obamacare Repeal and Replace Plan During Address to Congress

President Donald Trump unveiled his five guiding principles for repealing and replacing Obamacare during his address to Congress.

Trump said on Tuesday that health care reform will include five tenets: health savings accounts, tort reform, protections for patients with pre-existing conditions, purchase of insurance across state lines, and flexibility for Medicaid. President Trump remarked, “Tonight, I am also calling on this Congress to repeal and replace Obamacare with reforms that expand choice, increase access, lower costs, and, at the same time, provide better Healthcare.”

The President called government mandated health insurance the wrong solution. Rather, lowering the cost of health insurance is the best way to make health insurance affordable for everyone.

Trump said his principles for health care reform are:

    First, we should ensure that Americans with pre-existing conditions have access to coverage, and that we have a stable transition for Americans currently enrolled in the healthcare exchanges.

    Secondly, we should help Americans purchase their own coverage, through the use of tax credits and expanded Health Savings Accounts – but it must be the plan they want, not the plan forced on them by the Government.

    Thirdly, we should give our great State Governors the resources and flexibility they need with Medicaid to make sure no one is left out.

     Fourthly, we should implement legal reforms that protect patients and doctors from unnecessary costs that drive up the price of insurance – and work to bring down the artificially high price of drugs and bring them down immediately.

    Finally, the time has come to give Americans the freedom to purchase health insurance across State lines – creating a truly competitive national marketplace that will bring cost way down and provide far better care.

President Trump’s principles fall in line with Speaker Ryan’s plan. Speaker Ryan’s plan champions using tax credits to help Americans purchase health insurance. Allowing the purchase of health insurance across state lines, expanding health insurance,  and covering patients with pre-existing conditions follows the general Republican principles for Obamacare repeal and replace, while flexibility for states regarding Medicaid expansion mirrors the Cassidy-Collins’ plan.

“We should give our great State Governors the resources and flexibility they need with Medicaid to make sure no one is left out,” Trump held. This suggests that he wants to allow states that expanded Medicaid to continue providing expanded coverage, while not penalizing states such as North Carolina that did not expand Medicaid.

President Trump’s flexibility on Medicaid signals his willingness to make health care reform a bipartisan effort. He extended an offer to Democrats willing to work with him. “Our citizens deserve this, and so much more –- so why not join forces to finally get it done?  On this and so many other things, Democrats and Republicans should get together and unite for the good of our country, and for the good of the American people,” the president explained.

President Trump pledged to also work with both parties to make childcare affordable, expand paid leave for new parents, and invest in women’s health. Trump said, “True love for our people requires us to find common ground, to advance the common good, and to cooperate on behalf of every American child who deserves a brighter future.”