President Donald Trump will next week sign an executive order to loosen Obamacare rules, The Wall Street Journal reports.
The move comes the same day Trump sent out a tweet that he called Senate Minority leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., to try to revive healthcare legislation after GOP leaders had fallen short in doing so. Schumer later said in a statement that he told Trump Democratic lawmakers were willing to work with him on making necessary fixes to the Affordable Care Act, but that repeal of the law was “off the table.”
Trump’s promise to repeal and replace Obamacare has gone unfulfilled, but his order will direct the Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor and Treasury to make it easier for people to buy association health plans, programs providing health coverage via an industry organization to a grouping of businesses that share an affinity or common interest.
The president will also direct the agencies to roll back short-term medical insurance and allow consumers to buy those plans for up to a year. Short-term plans don’t meet the minimum essential coverage requirements under the ACA, and are designed to provide temporary healthcare insurance during unexpected coverage gaps.
The order, according to the Journal, will also direct agencies to expand health reimbursement accounts, and allow them to play a larger role in helping Americans purchase their own coverage.