Open enrollment for 2018 kicked off Wednesday morning. It’s the only time of year (save a few exceptions) that individuals and families can buy insurance on the Affordable Care Act’s exchanges, and it lasts six weeks. Back when Barack Obama was president, the government made a big annual push in the lead-up to open enrollment: The president took his sales pitch to late-night TV and even starred in absurdist viral videos to make sure people knew it was time to sign up for the next year’s insurance plan.
But the Trump administration is taking a different approach. On Tuesday, Trump released a campaign-style video attacking the law. “Obamacare is failing,” the narrator intones. “Insurance premiums skyrocketing. Working families suffer. All while Democrats in Washington, DC, block a better plan to repeal and replace Obamacare once and for all.” The president has, of course, tweeted about it.
As usual, the ObamaCare premiums will be up (the Dems own it), but we will Repeal & Replace and have great Healthcare soon after Tax Cuts!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 29, 2017
It’s not surprising to see Trump spending the days before open enrollment trying to sow confusion. The president has spent much of 2017 trying to dismantle the law, partially by urging Congress to pass a repeal, but also by taking advantage of executive fiat to make subtle changes that could depress enrollment. Thanks to Trump’s decision to cut off cost-sharing reduction payments, which refund insurance companies for offering lower deductibles and copays to low-income families, premiums shot up anywhere from 7 to 38 percent, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.
We put together the most significant changes the Trump administration has made to undermine Obama’s health care law. Watch the video above.
