image credit: powerlineblog.com
Headline: Trump Just Revolutionized Health Care — And Nobody Noticed
The editorial at Issues and Insights reports:
Under the plan, employers will be
able to fund tax-free Health Reimbursement Accounts for their workers, who can
then use the money to buy an individual insurance plan — thereby taking another
step toward fixing the 77-year-old tax distortion. The rule also lets employers
fund a different account to buy cheaper “short-term” plans.
“This subtle, technical tweak has
the potential to revolutionize the private health insurance market,” wrote Avik
Roy, one of the smartest health care experts around, in the Washington Post.
The administration figures that
800,000 employers will eventually move to HRA plans, and 11 million workers
will get their benefits this way.
At the same time, Trump also
loosened the federal rules that had needlessly impeded “association health
plans.” These are plans that let members of various groups band together to buy
insurance. The result will be more competition, and more affordable choices for
millions of people.
The Democrats’ response? Attack
these changes as another attempt by Trump to “sabotage” Obamacare. What they
really fear, however, is that the two new rules will destroy their case for
socialized medicine.
The full report is here. Even as Congress continues to drag
its feet, and the RINO’s who campaigned on repealing Obamacare reneged on their
promises, the Trump administration is finding ways to improve healthcare for
Americans.
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