2020 VISION — OR REVISION?
Initial Priorities
Biden also wants to expand on and strengthen the Affordable Care Act that became law while he was vice president to President Barack Obama. Meanwhile, incumbent President Donald Trump wants to move forward on his goal of dismantling Obama’s health care law. But any moves to change the current health care system will take a back seat to getting the nation up and running after the COVID-19 pandemic crippled the U.S. economy, according to Michael Kolber, partner with Manatt Health.
lawsuit to strike down the ACA. At issue is whether the law’s individual mandate to have health insurance is constitutional. The administration contends that the law cannot survive without an individual mandate for health insurance. The financial penalty for not having insurance was repealed as part of the GOP tax law in 2017. “I think that, depending on how this court case goes, you’ll see the Trump administration continue to challenge the ACA and push for more free market positions,” said Diane Boyle, senior vice
Support For Medicare for All Is 3:1 Would you support or oppose providing Medicare to every American?
SUPPORT
33% 67%
OPPOSE Source: Hill/HarrisX survey July 2020
“If Joe Biden takes office in January, his No. 1 priority is going to be COVID-19. It won’t be making structural changes to the health insurance market,” Kolber told InsuranceNewsNet. A Trump presidency also will face challenges relating to moving the nation back to normal in the COVID-19 world, Kolber said, and Trump is expected to forge ahead with repealing the ACA. The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments on Nov. 10 in a Trump administration-backed
COVER STORY
said she doesn’t believe the money is there. “So far, we’ve spent more than $2 trillion on providing recovery and relief from COVID-19, and we’re looking at spending another $1 trillion-3 trillion. So that’s as much as $5 trillion, and it will have to come from somewhere, no matter what administration is in place.” Boyle said that if Congress wants to fund a health care system, it will have to change the tax code in order to raise the money. “So I think that if you are looking at expanding health care, it’s going to be dependent more on the results of
But More Democrats Than Republicans Want It 87% Democrats 69% Independents 46% Republicans
president of government relations for the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors. “Things like, will you be able to get health care across state lines, or will you give the states more flexibility with their Medicaid programs? I think those would be the types of issues that we’d see in a Trump second term.” With the billions of federal dollars already spent on pandemic relief and recovery, can the U.S. afford either a public option or a single-payer system? Boyle
the congressional elections than the administration, because even if you have a Democrat-controlled Senate and House, you still have a number of fiscal hawks in Congress. They’re going to say, ‘How do we pay for that?’ And we’re not done paying for COVID-19. We’re not in recovery mode yet; we’re still in relief mode.”
Changes To Medicare
In addition to his push for a public option, Biden favors lowering the eligibility
October 2020 » InsuranceNewsNet Magazine
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