Today, President Trump continued his attack on the Affordable Care Act (ACA) by signing a new executive order which undermines state regulations and ACA protections. Trump’s new executive order could open loopholes that draw younger and healthier people to bare-bones plans, destabilizing the marketplace, inflating costs for ACA participants and undermining protections for people with pre-existing conditions.
The changes represent a step toward repeal of Obamacare, something Trump and Republicans have unsuccessfully attempted to do through legislation, reports The Huffington Post. “We’re starting that process,” Trump said at a signing ceremony in the Oval Office, adding that he still expects legislation to pass at some point. “Today is only the beginning.”
“President Trump is working to sabotage the Affordable Care Act in any way possible; showing complete disregard for the health and well-being of millions of Americans, including many in the LGBTQ community, who rely on the ACA for coverage,” said Sarah Kate Ellis, president and CEO of GLAAD. “Healthcare is a human right and now more than ever we must keep fighting to protect our care and demand the inclusive and affordable healthcare that the LGBTQ community, and all Americans, deserve to live and thrive.”
GLAAD today released a timeline of President Trump’s ongoing efforts to sabotage the Affordable Care Act:
10.12.17 – Trump signs healthcare executive order to allow individuals and small businesses to buy health insurance that skirts state regulations and ACA protections.
9.27.17 – Trump administration told all 10 of their Department of Health and Human Services regional directors to not participate in ACA outreach.
9.22.17 – Reporting reveals the Trump Administration will be shutting down the Healthcare.gov website for 12 hours on all but one of the Sundays (a day which most Americans have off from work) during the ACA open enrollment period.
9.15.17 – The budget for healthcare navigators, who help people through the process to buy marketplace insurance plans, was cut nearly in half from $63 million to $36 million.
8.31.17 – Trump administration announced they are slashing the ACA’s advertising budget by 90%; from $100 million to $10 million.
8.10.17 – Reporting reveals that the Department of Health and Human Services cut off relationship with the Latino Affordable Care Act Coalition, a group that has worked with the White House since 2013 to develop outreach and educational campaigns aimed at increasing Latinx enrollment in the ACA.
7.28.17 – Trump outright admitted that his goal is to sabotage the ACA: “Let Obamacare implode.”
4.13.17 – ACA open enrollment period reduced by six weeks, cutting the deadline from Jan. 31 to Dec. 15.
1.20.17 – Trump signed an executive order telling the IRS not enforce ACA individual mandate within hours of taking office.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION: What a Successful Affordable Care Act Sabotage Would Mean for LGBTQ Americans
Loss of Coverage for the LGBTQ Community
Uninsured rates among LGBTQ adults fell from 28% to 11% between June 2013 and March 2015, following the enactment of the ACA. This is larger decline than that for non-LGBTQ adults, according to a 2015 study by Urban Institute.
Access to Medicaid, which is the larger source of coverage for people with HIV living in the United States, significantly increased under the ACA. Kaiser Institute: “Medicaid spending on HIV accounts for 30% of all federal spending on HIV care and when combining the states’ share of spending, is the second largest source of public financing for HIV care in the U.S.”
The nondiscrimination provision of the ACA, Section 1557, “prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, or disability” in programs that receive federal funding, protecting transgender patients from being denied services based on their gender identity. This protects gender non-conforming and transgender people, including transition-related care and gender confirmation surgery.
