Freeing Consumers from Obamacare: A Bipartisan Opportunity for High-Quality, Affordable Health Insurance

Strategic Insights -

The possibility of a deal to extend Obamacare subsidies for the wealthy has sparked a debate among Republicans, with some advocating for giving in to Democratic demands. However, a more defensible approach would be for Republicans to marry one Trump policy with one Obama policy: freeing consumers to choose better, more affordable health insurance. By codifying Trump's rules and writing consumer protections into permanent law, Republicans could offer health plans that are higher quality than Obamacare plans and unburdened by its discriminatory incentives.

Key Takeaways:

  • Republicans could free consumers to choose high-quality, affordable coverage by codifying Trump's rules and writing those consumer protections into permanent law.
  • The CBO found that Trump's policy enabled most Obamacare enrollees to obtain comprehensive coverage at premiums as much as 60 percent below the lowest-price Obamacare plans.
  • The resulting health plans would be higher quality than Obamacare plans because they would not face Obamacare's incentives to discriminate against the sick.
  • President Obama's administration recognized that Obamacare's regulations are destabilizing and make health insurance expensive, and they exempted US territories from these regulations to preserve the health insurance market.
  • Many residents of Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands have had the freedom to choose their health insurance for over a decade, with lower premiums and better coverage.
  • The deal proposed by Michael F. Cannon would restore this freedom to all employers and individuals, allowing them to purchase any health plan available in any US territory.
  • A temporary extension of subsidies for the wealthy could be traded for a permanent restoration of the freedom to choose better, more affordable health insurance, which would be a good and impressive deal.

Statistics:

  • The CBO found that Trump's policy enabled most Obamacare enrollees to obtain comprehensive coverage at premiums as much as 60 percent below the lowest-price Obamacare plans.
  • Obama's administration exempted Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands from Obamacare's regulations to preserve the health insurance market.
  • For more than a decade, residents of Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands have had the freedom to choose their health insurance.

Sources:

  • "The Best Deal for the Middle Class Is the Best Deal for America" by Michael F. Cannon, National Review, [https://www.nationalreview.com/2019/09/trump-obamacare-subsidies-solution/](https://www.nationalreview.com/2019/09/trump-obamacare-subsidies-solution/)
  • Cato Institute, Washington, D.C.