If President Trump Repeals Obamacare
If President Trump Repeals Obamacare (The Affordable Care Act)
Throughout his campaign for the presidency, Donald Trump repeatedly stated that one of his first acts if he won would be to repeal Obamacare. Now that he’s actually been elected however, he’s saying that he might keep some aspects of it. Nobody knows what will happen, but if Trump sticks to his original word and repeals Obamacare, the country as a whole- but especially the middle class, could benefit immensely.
The goal of Obamacare is to eventually reach universal health care, meaning everyone in the country would be covered. It tries to reinforce this goal by requiring everyone in the United States to either obtain coverage, or pay a fee every month they go without (unless exempted). For more information on the basics of Obamacare, watch this helpful video. But in summary, not much will change for those already covered by their employers, or for those covered by medicare or medicaid. The changes come mostly for those not already covered by their employers, as the government will now be requiring bigger companies to provide health care for their employees, and strongly encouraging smaller companies to provide coverage for their employees, through incentives such as tax breaks. Everyone else will have to buy their own Obamacare plans.
Although these intentions are good, there are some holes in The Affordable Care Act- holes that mostly affect the middle class (negatively). For example, rather than abiding by the government’s requirement to provide all employees with health care, some bigger companies could opt to instead lay off or fire some workers, so they don’t have to spend more money covering as many people. This would lead to a higher frictional unemployment rate, and therefore an unhealthier economy, as employment rate is one of an economy’s “vital signs.” Also, the government does not provide subsidies to most middle class citizens who buy an Obamacare plan, leaving them alone to face the ridiculously high deductibles that come with said plans. In fact, according to a Kaiser study, 46% of uninsured adults opt to stay uninsured, rather than getting coverage from an Obamacare based plan, due to such high costs. This is because they don’t believe that the marginal cost of these deductibles, outweighs the marginal benefit of health insurance, which is pretty sad if you ask me. 
Believe it or not, Trump’s goal is also to reach universal health care, he just has different ideas about how to get there. Ideas that mostly involve free market based reforms. According to his own website, Trump plans to implement such reforms as allowing health insurance vendors to sell across state lines, requiring price transparency from all health care/insurance providers, and the removal of barriers that inhibit certain drug companies from entering the free market. These reforms would all provide consumers with more choices, and therefore freedom, when buying health insurance, and support the theory of the invisible hand, the idea that an economy driven by consumer decision making will stabilize itself. If consumers are offered more choices, they’ll more easily be able to find a plan that they believe has a marginal benefit that outweighs the marginal cost, which would encourage more people to purchase health insurance. It would also be true that large companies would no longer have to provide their employees with coverage, which could lead to a reduction in the frictional unemployment rate, and a healthier economy. Overall, the repealment of Obamacare would benefit the middle class, and bring our country closer to its end goal of universal healthcare.
Works Cited:
"Top 10 Things to Know About ObamaCare." ObamacareFacts.com. Obamacare Facts, n.d. Web. 26 Nov. 2016.
Luhby, Tami. "Is Obamacare Really Affordable? Not for the Middle Class." CNNMoney. Cable News Network, 4 Nov. 2016. Web. 26 Nov. 2016
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