Although President-elect Donald Trump pledged to repeal much of the healthcare legislation President Barack Obama's administration put in place, the road to a viable solution for everyone involved will not be easy.
According to U.S. News and World Report, here are four lessons the President-elect can learn from his predecessor.
1. Make no promises. Specific promises made during one's time in office or on the campaign trail may not always work. "There are no easy solutions in healthcare," said Jim Capretta, a resident fellow and Milton Friedman Chair at the Washington D.C.-based American Enterprise Institute. "Whatever is done will necessarily involve some trade-offs, and winners and losers. There are political risks associated with every kind of policy proposal."
2. Medicare and Medicaid are politically popular. As part of the ACA, President Obama implemented an individual mandate which required most individuals to buy health insurance. The law financed part of the coverage expansion through cuts in Medicare payments to service providers ─ a politically unpopular move, according to the article. Mr. Trump also has plans to change Medicaid's financing mechanism. He has advocated turning Medicaid into a block grant program designed to give a set amount of money to states to use in their Medicaid programs as they see fit. The GOP has argued giving states more control over their funding distribution could help control costs and reduce spending. Some critics, however, argue block grants could harm or reduce funding, which could then impact provider reimbursement.
3. Going at it alone may not be wise. The passing of the ACA without bipartisan support led to immense opposition and conflict within Congress. For the millions of Americans who may lose coverage if the ACA is repealed without a replacement plan in effect, "the blame will go squarely onto the shoulders of those who engineered the repeal," said Ron Pollock, executive director of Families USA, which may lead to more political turmoil and feuding.
4. Consumers are smart. While the ACA helped insure millions of people, it also brought legal obligations and expenses some Americans could not afford. "Republicans may be tempted to push insurance premiums down by allowing insurers to offer skimpier coverage with fewer benefits and higher deductibles, [but] that's not likely to satisfy consumers in the end," said Larry Levitt, senior vice president for special initiatives at the Menlo Park, Calif.-based Kaiser Family Foundation.