The Affordable Care Act governing health insurance for millions of Americans may not survive in its current form but experts say people should keep their plans and those left out sign up as January 31 deadline for 2017 coverage approaches.
The current Donald Trump Administration has expressed its intent to repeal and replace the current law, and President Trump has also vowed to introduce a better program.
But with no immediate replacement in sight and Republican-dominated Congress and the Administration expected to do a lot of work in the months ahead for a viable alternative to the program, also known as Obamacare. Under the current circumstance experts say people should not risk losing health coverage.
Health experts say people should not be confused about their immediate health coverage. By December 2016 around 12 million Americans, they say, had gotten insurance under the ACA and Healthcare.gov and the Marketplace continue to function after the White House executive order to repeal the Act.
Larry Levitt, senior vice president for special initiatives at the Kaiser Family Foundation, says while the executive order reflects the administration’s intent, it does not have immediate effect on the ACA.
In this situation, experts say, it is better for people to persist with their coverage.
“It is important that people have access to essential health benefits so that they do not have to worry or suffer in the case of urgent medical assistance,” AlHaj Mujtaba, President and CEO of Versatile Financia and Insurance company says.
Republican lawmakers have welcomed the presidential executive order which directs federal agencies to “take all actions consistent with law to minimize the unwarranted economic and regulatory burdens of the Act, and prepare to afford the states more flexibility and control to create a more free and open healthcare market.”
President Trump’s order allows the heads of relevant agencies to “waive, defer, grant exemptions from, or delay the implementation of any provision or requirement of the Act that would impose a fiscal burden on any State or a cost, fee, tax, penalty, or regulatory burden on individuals, families, healthcare providers, health insurers, patients, recipients of healthcare services, purchasers of health insurance, or makers of medical devices, products, or medications.”
The individual mandate provision of the law that makes it necessary for all Americans to enroll in the health plan through their employer or the state exchange, or face a financial penalty, is now subject to change.
Meanwhile, findings of a jointly carried out survey by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, revealed Saturday, say around 40 percent of American favor improvements and continuation of the healthcare service.
