ObamaCare could never have survived without forcing many more healthy Americans into the system to subsidize those benefiting from the program—exactly what the single-payer program Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton endorsed would have done. In scrapping ObamaCare, Republicans should be careful not to shoulder more than the objectives of finding a cost-efficient way to deal with pre-existing health problems, strengthening Americans’ ability to keep their insurance when they get sick or change jobs, and block-granting Medicaid to the states.
If they try to do more, they will be in danger of only changing the name of ObamaCare. They would then own a program that is detrimental to freedom, fiscal responsibility and economic growth.
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The Trump administration intends to publish a new regulation soon aimed at stabilizing Obamacare’s marketplaces, just as insurers are weighing whether to participate next year.
The administration hasn’t released the text for the regulations or said whether it could be finalized before insurers face the first deadlines this spring for submitting plans for 2018.
The Office of Management and Budget released a notice on a pending rule received Feb. 1 aimed at stabilizing Obamacare markets.
The rule was received the same day that insurers told Congress that they need to know soon whether cost-sharing reduction payments will be reimbursed in 2018.
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