The Trump administration just announced a major regulatory change, effective Jan. 1, 2020, that could significantly expand access to affordable health coverage and increase the choice of health plans, particularly among workers and their families in small businesses.
The proposed rule, jointly developed by the Department of Health and Human Services and the Treasury Department, would allow employer-sponsored health reimbursement accounts to fund the purchase of individual health insurance on a tax-free basis.
This opportunity is particularly valuable for workers employed by small business owners who cannot afford to offer standard group health insurance, but who could afford to help offset the premium costs of their employees' individual coverage.
Treasury Department officials estimate that the new rule could encourage as many as 800,000 employers to sponsor health reimbursement accounts, or HRAs, to fund individual coverage for more than 10 million workers.
The Trump rule has the potential not only to expand coverage, but also to increase employees' choices in health plans.
The impact of the Trump rule could prove genuinely transformational, if Congress would take the obvious next step: Adopt the reform policies outlined in the Health Care Choices Proposal, developed by a broad coalition of conservative health policy analysts.
By enabling states to liberalize their health insurance markets, Congress could enable employees, using health reimbursement accounts as a vehicle for tax-free premium payments, to choose among a variety of new and innovative plans.
https://www.dailysignal.com/2018/10/24/how-trumps-new-rule-aims-to-expand-health-coverage-and-lower-costs/
Last year, the Trump administration changed how Obamacare subsidizes insurers, and some companies reacted by raising prices higher than it turned out to be needed.
Original research by The Heritage Foundation shows that if states get even a little bit of freedom from Obamacare's mandates, they can bring costs down.
Some states have been able to make small changes to the way they address high health costs by getting waivers from just a few of Obamacare's rules.
The limited administrative relief available under Obamacare has provided promising beginnings in a few states, but states still are locked into the fundamentally flawed Obamacare framework.
Advocates of the bailout said new money was needed to lower costs and "Stabilize the market." The Heritage Foundation and Heritage Action, among others, argued the opposite: The solution to Obamacare's higher costs and reduced choices isn't shoveling more and more tax dollars into insurance companies' pockets.
The Health Care Choices Proposal, crafted by state and national leaders, could lower costs for individual coverage by up to 32 percent, according to an independent analysis of the plan.
https://www.dailysignal.com/2018/10/24/how-congress-can-build-on-the-presidents-work-to-cut-health-care-costs/
SUPPORT is an acronym for Substance Use-Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment.
Currently, most Medicare beneficiaries must pay out of pocket for opioid treatment programs.
"This is widespread. The opioid crisis does not discriminate on the basis of race, gender or socioeconomic status," Kellyanne Conway, counselor to the president, told The Daily Signal in a conference call ahead of the bill-signing event.
On Tuesday, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar announced a new Maternal Opioid Misuse program to work with Medicaid programs for services for pregnant women addicted to opioids.
Last month, the Trump administration awarded more than $1 billion in federal funding to state and local entities to address the opioid crisis, including more than $396 million to 1,232 community health centers, more than 120 rural community organizations, and academic institutions.
The Trump administration almost doubled funding for opioid and pain research to $1.1 billion and is supporting research for a vaccine to prevent opioid addiction.
https://www.dailysignal.com/2018/10/24/at-bill-signing-trump-vows-to-make-extremely-big-dent-in-opioid-crisis/
The proposed rule, jointly developed by the Department of Health and Human Services and the Treasury Department, would allow employer-sponsored health reimbursement accounts to fund the purchase of individual health insurance on a tax-free basis.
This opportunity is particularly valuable for workers employed by small business owners who cannot afford to offer standard group health insurance, but who could afford to help offset the premium costs of their employees' individual coverage.
Treasury Department officials estimate that the new rule could encourage as many as 800,000 employers to sponsor health reimbursement accounts, or HRAs, to fund individual coverage for more than 10 million workers.
The Trump rule has the potential not only to expand coverage, but also to increase employees' choices in health plans.
The impact of the Trump rule could prove genuinely transformational, if Congress would take the obvious next step: Adopt the reform policies outlined in the Health Care Choices Proposal, developed by a broad coalition of conservative health policy analysts.
By enabling states to liberalize their health insurance markets, Congress could enable employees, using health reimbursement accounts as a vehicle for tax-free premium payments, to choose among a variety of new and innovative plans.
https://www.dailysignal.com/2018/10/24/how-trumps-new-rule-aims-to-expand-health-coverage-and-lower-costs/
How Congress Can Build on Trump's Work to Cut Health Care Costs
The Trump administration reports that premiums for benchmark silver plans sold on the federal Obamacare insurance exchanges have dropped by 2 percent on average.Last year, the Trump administration changed how Obamacare subsidizes insurers, and some companies reacted by raising prices higher than it turned out to be needed.
Original research by The Heritage Foundation shows that if states get even a little bit of freedom from Obamacare's mandates, they can bring costs down.
Some states have been able to make small changes to the way they address high health costs by getting waivers from just a few of Obamacare's rules.
The limited administrative relief available under Obamacare has provided promising beginnings in a few states, but states still are locked into the fundamentally flawed Obamacare framework.
Advocates of the bailout said new money was needed to lower costs and "Stabilize the market." The Heritage Foundation and Heritage Action, among others, argued the opposite: The solution to Obamacare's higher costs and reduced choices isn't shoveling more and more tax dollars into insurance companies' pockets.
The Health Care Choices Proposal, crafted by state and national leaders, could lower costs for individual coverage by up to 32 percent, according to an independent analysis of the plan.
https://www.dailysignal.com/2018/10/24/how-congress-can-build-on-the-presidents-work-to-cut-health-care-costs/
At Bill Signing, Trump Vows to Make 'Extremely Big Dent' in Opioid Crisis
President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed bipartisan legislation to combat opioid abuse and highlighted the progress made so far in the fight.SUPPORT is an acronym for Substance Use-Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment.
Currently, most Medicare beneficiaries must pay out of pocket for opioid treatment programs.
"This is widespread. The opioid crisis does not discriminate on the basis of race, gender or socioeconomic status," Kellyanne Conway, counselor to the president, told The Daily Signal in a conference call ahead of the bill-signing event.
On Tuesday, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar announced a new Maternal Opioid Misuse program to work with Medicaid programs for services for pregnant women addicted to opioids.
Last month, the Trump administration awarded more than $1 billion in federal funding to state and local entities to address the opioid crisis, including more than $396 million to 1,232 community health centers, more than 120 rural community organizations, and academic institutions.
The Trump administration almost doubled funding for opioid and pain research to $1.1 billion and is supporting research for a vaccine to prevent opioid addiction.
https://www.dailysignal.com/2018/10/24/at-bill-signing-trump-vows-to-make-extremely-big-dent-in-opioid-crisis/
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