Trump Executive Order Could Save Millions from ObamaCare

President Trump todaysigned anexecutive order that urges executive-branch agencies to take steps that could free millions of consumers from ObamaCare ’s hidden taxes, bring transparency to that law, and give hundreds of millions of workers greater control over their earnings and health care decisions.Background: ObamaCare ’s Hidden TaxesSince the Affordable Care Act took full effect in 2014, premiums in the individual market have more thandoubled. The average cumulative increase is 105 percent, equivalent to average annual increases of 19 percent. Family premiums have increased140 percent. In Alabama, Alaska, and Oklahoma, premiums have more thantripled. Analysts predict an average increase of18 percent for 2018; premium increases will average24 percent in Washington State and45 percent in Florida. Maryland Insurance Commissioner Al Redmerpredicts that if these trends persist, the Exchanges “will implode.”ObamaCare ’s skyrocketing premiums are not due to rising health care prices. They are due to the hidden taxes ObamaCare imposes. The law’s community-rating price controls increase premiums for the healthy in order to reduce premiums for the sick. The law also requires individuals and small employers to pu rchase a government-defined set of “essential health benefits,” including coverage (e.g., maternity care) that many consumers do not want.The cost of ObamaCare ’s hidden taxes is substantial. The Department of Health and Human Services commissioned (and th...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - Category: American Health Authors: Source Type: blogs