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Popular vote loser Donald Trump is reportedly prepared to do the most extreme thing he can to destroy the Affordable Care Act—gut the individual mandate with an executive order if the mandate repeal isn't included in the tax cuts bill. That's what a Republican senator is telling the Washington Examiner.
According to the senator, an executive order is sitting with the Office of Management and Budget waiting for approval. President Trump decided to delay the executive order after Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., pushed for the inclusion of the individual mandate repeal in the tax bill, and has been supportive of its inclusion in statements he has made on Twitter.
Trump can't repeal the mandate on his own, but the law leaves room for whoever is in the White House to determine the "hardship exemptions" that allow people to get out of paying the penalty for not having insurance coverage. The exemption was created for the kinds of real-life situations—natural disasters, death of a family member, domestic violence—that can break an individual or family financially. Trump can—and appears to be ready to—broaden the exemption to make the mandate's penalties basically not apply to anyone.
That, like outright repeal of the mandate, could end up with as many as 15 million people losing insurance, according to the Congressional Budget Office. Because with no penalty for not signing up, healthy people will just decide not to, leaving a sicker and sicker pool of people in the markets and making premiums skyrocket. That's the Republican idea of freedom.
But you can help counteract that. Join the Open Enrollment Street Team volunteers helping Get America Covered to get the word that it's open enrollment in Obamacare right now, and that getting insured could be more affordable than ever. The more people who sign up, the harder it will be for Trump and the Republicans to take coverage away from millions.
It's easy to join an Open Enrollment Team! Click here to sign up now.
Can't volunteer at this time? Click here to share info about open enrollment on Facebook.