GOP and President Trump Meet With Health Insurance CEOs On Obamacare Repeal, Health Insurance Plans
President Donald Trump was intent on winning the support of top health insurance CEOs at a White House meeting last week to replace Obamacare with a Republican health insurance plan (ACA). Trump had a dire prediction for them as part of the meeting.
Top executives from Aetna, Cigna, Humana, UnitedHealth, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Kaiser Permanente, and Anthem attended the meeting, as did Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price.
“2017 is going to be a catastrophic year for Obamacare for patients,” Trump told the assembled executives.
He added that he believes current public health care exchanges are “going to absolutely implode.”
With premiums for all insurance policies rising in recent years, experts believe the Obamacare hikes were caused in part by artificially low initial pricing for the policies.
“We have a plan that’s going to be fantastic. A very competitive plan, costs will come down, and health care will go up very substantially. It will be well received. It’s going to be special. I think you’re going to like what you hear,” Trump told the insurance executives.
While some leaked versions of alleged GOP plans to repeal and replace the ACA are said to place a heavy emphasis on tax credits and health savings accounts while simultaneously reducing subsidies and Medicaid funding, they are also aimed at eliminating employer and individual mandates that currently require providing and carrying health insurance.
However, some Americans are concerned about replacement options. According to polls, only 12% of Americans had any confidence in health insurance companies as of last year. According to the NBC/WSJ poll, 54 percent of respondents said they had “very little” or “nothing at all.”
According to Congressional Budget Office estimates, if Obamacare is repealed, 22 million Americans will lose their health insurance, but the White House has yet to respond in detail to requests for comment.
The insurance industry trade group AHIP is still optimistic that the GOP will come up with a viable plan.
“The Administration has taken several recent steps to demonstrate its commitment to a stable, effective transition that works for consumers, and we look forward to Congress taking additional, much-needed action soon.
We are committed to working with the Administration and Congress to improve health care for every American.”