End of Obamacare: What Happens When Trump Repeals the ACA?

The GOP has hated what they’ve coined “Obamacare” from the start. Obamacare, also known as the “Affordable Care Act,” certainly has its kinks. For instance, high deductibles for its Bronze plan users make up about 20 percent of its customers. Nevertheless, the fact of the matter is that it has helped millions of people, most of whom are low-income or working class, who otherwise would not have health insurance. It has done this without raising taxes.

President Trump promised to repeal Obamacare as soon as he was elected. When he finally took office, he again promised to repeal Obamacare. Initially, indications from the GOP were that a repeal would occur within the first 100 days of Trump’s presidency. The repeal seems to have lost its initial steam.

Possible Timeline

The Senate and House of Representatives started the repeal process in earnest. In January, both the House and the Senate passed a budget resolution that set the stage for introducing a bill that would strip major provisions from Obamacare.

In order to repeal Obamacare, the next step is for President Trump to the sign the budget resolution bill while simultaneously introducing a bill to replace key provisions of the Affordable Care Act, but the GOP seems to have faltered at this step. What they initially wanted to happen swiftly is now being pushed back to the end of 2017, primarily because the party is still trying to figure out what to replace Obamacare with.

Even when a replacement for Obamacare is presented and signed by President Trump, there will be delays built into the repeal bill in order to ease the transition. No one knows how long the delay will take, but it’s presumed a delay of two to four years is likely. For this reason, major changes are unlikely to affect Affordable Care Act consumers right away.

Why Delay Repeal?

For one, there are many parts of Obamacare that are popular. Under Obamacare, insurance companies cannot deny coverage based on a preexisting condition, and children stay on their parents’ plan until they turn 26. These provisions are popular among the majority of Americans.

Moreover, the Affordable Care Act has insured over 20 million people who otherwise wouldn’t have health insurance. Republicans have been bombarded with constituent concerns about the potential loss of coverage. There are stories of everyday Americans who say they would’ve died had it not been for the Affordable Care Act.

How Will Repealing Obamacare Affect Americans?

Under Obamacare, millions of Americans are insured and can’t be turned away despite pre-existing conditions. Senior citizens pay less for Medicare coverage and for their prescription drugs. Many Americans receive free contraceptives, mammograms, colonoscopies and cholesterol tests, Repealing Obamacare could threaten all these advantages.

For instance, “repairing” Obamacare could mean higher premiums and deductibles for those enrolled on Medicare, most of whom are on fixed incomes. Companies with at least 50 employees may no longer be required to provide affordable insurance to their employees who work more than 30 hours a week. This could affect millions of employees who work at least 30 hours per week but less than 40 hours. In addition, companies will no longer have to keep children on their parents’ health insurance plans until they turn 26.

Finally and perhaps most devastating, a repeal on Obamacare would no longer require nearly all Americans to obtain insurance or pay a penalty. Millions of Americans covered by the Affordable Care Act may be dropped by their insurance carrier with no way of obtaining alternative insurance.