Remember when Donald Trump spent ages saying that his health care plan was just two weeks away? Well, during a debate last year, he was pushed on why he kept dodging the details. His reply? He’s got ‘concepts of a plan.’ Talk about a laugh!
Fast forward to this past weekend, and Trump took to social media to finally share what he called a ‘new’ health care idea, inspired by his latest round of golf at his fancy country club. Can you sense the excitement?
In his Saturday morning post, he wrote, No more money, hundreds of billions of dollars, to the Democrat supported insurance companies for really bad Obamacare. He went on to claim that federal dollars should be funneled directly to the public, cutting out those so-called ‘fat cat’ insurance companies. According to him, people could then buy better policies for much less, leading to giant savings!
Then on Sunday, he followed up with another hyperbolic claim: PAY THE PEOPLE, NOT THE INSURANCE COMPANIES! Classic Trump move, right?
The timing of this suggestion wasn’t lost on anyone, especially as the clock ticked on the longest government shutdown in U.S. history. While Democrats were fighting to keep ACA coverage affordable through subsidies, Trump tossed out this alternative: Instead of investing in making insurance cheaper, why not just hand cash straight to consumers?
Senator Lindsey Graham, an avid supporter of Trump and often confused on health care topics, chimed in to call the idea ‘simply brilliant.’ But let’s be real here, it’s not.
For years, the GOP has labeled the Affordable Care Act a government takeover of healthcare, yet it relies heavily on private insurers. The ACA creates marketplaces where folks can get financial help to afford those private plans. Democrats have been pushing to increase these subsidies while Republicans are heading in the opposite direction.
So what’s Trump’s so-called idea? Giving the subsidies directly to the public? It sounds good on paper, but here’s the kicker: not long after, experts pointed out a glaring flaw in his reasoning.
Democratic Senator Chris Murphy from Connecticut pointed out on social media, “This is, unsurprisingly, nonsensical. Is he suggesting we eliminate health insurance and give people a couple thousand dollars? And what happens when they get a serious illness? Just go bankrupt?”
Spot on! Essentially, Trump is basically saying, We could make health insurance affordable for you, but instead, let’s just hand you a bit of cash. Here’s the problem: whatsoever cash they receive will likely end up going right back to the insurance companies anyway for coverage, or folks risk facing steep bills due to unexpected medical emergencies.
And guess what? Over the weekend, some congressional Republicans hinted that they might try to turn Trump’s proposal into a formal bill. Can’t wait to see where this goes!
This piece originally appeared on MSNBC.com
