President-elect Donald Trump has confirmed he will keep two key elements of the Obama Care in his “replacement” legislation. A continued inclusion of dependent coverage until age 26 and the confirmation of not using a pre-existing limitation are important to many Americans.
Prior to the ACA, individual medical underwriters would have a pre-existing limitation for any condition the policyholder may have been treated for, or diagnosed prior to their enrollment. The insurance side argument is people will not enroll until they are sick and need the coverage, which undercuts an important insurance principle. The answer is to increase the number of insured’s to broaden the pool of policyholders, thus providing sufficient funding for all claims. If the new administration does away with the mandate, this principle will still need to be addressed in order to have a viable insurance pool.
We have some indications of what to expect, but no guarantees. We do know the two key elements of pre-existing and age limitation are included in the Republican pro forma health care bill and have now been confirmed by the President-elect. We will need to wait for the final bill to be drafted, but it is a priority and we can expect this change in late January if we are to believe what we hear about timing.
Or, in the words of then House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi when the ACA became law; “we need to pass the legislation to see what’s in it”