Courtesy of CBS News:Since Congress can't get its act together on HealthCare, I will be using the power of the pen to give great HealthCare to many people - FAST— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 10, 2017
President Trump on Friday announced he is "starting that process" of repealing and replacing Obamacare with his executive order to unilaterally change some aspects of health insurance coverage.
Mr. Trump, surrounded by top administration officials, business leaders and Sen. Rand Paul, R-Kentucky, praised his executive order as step towards repealing and replacing his predecessor's signature health care law.
Mr. Trump, stuck with a Republican-led Congress that hasn't passed a bill to undo Obamacare, announced earlier this week that he is resorting to his "pen" instead. Mr. Trump, who began to walk out of the Oval Office Friday before signing the order until Vice President Mike Pence reminded him to sign it, used that pen on Friday. Mr. Trump said the order will cost the federal government "virtually nothing," and will force insurance companies to start "fighting" to sign people up for care.
"You'll get such low prices for such great care," he said. Mr. Trump didn't back down on his desire to repeal Obamacare and fulfill a signature campaign promise, despite the GOP-led Congress' inability to agree on how to do that.
Mr. Trump said he is still committed to working with Congress to repeal and replace Obamacare, "once and for all." The president's executive order is intended to make lower-premium plans more widely available. Mr. Trump has long talked of his desire to make plans available across state lines, something he says this order will do.
The White House views this as an action that will "increase the healthcare choices for millions of Americans, potentially allowing some employers to join together across state lines to offer coverage," according to a background call before the order's signing.
Okay as I think everybody is aware there is nothing about this that is going to increase anybody's health care choices. Those are just the bullshit talking points that Trump is using while he prepares to strip away all of the safeguards and benefits that the Affordable Care Act worked to provide.
Of course this executive order does not really accomplish anything at this point except to allow health insurance companies sell crappy polices that will be of little use once the policy holder gets very sick or badly injured, and it is sure to be challenged by medical groups, blue states, and even some of his fellow Republicans.
Obamacare had a lofty goal, and that was not only to get more people health insurance, but also to make sure those policies covered them completely, and that they could not be kicked off when they desperately needed to be covered.
This is the first step to handing more power back to the insurance companies, and if past is prologue they will abuse that power until somebody makes them stop.
Now it is more important than ever to start talking seriously about single payer, and to take this power away from these insurance companies permanently.
By the way apparently Trump almost walked away again without signing the executive order, but he was stopped by Mike Pence.
Yeah, fuck Mike Pence.
He needs to be removed from office right along with his orange tinted Fuhrer.
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