President Trump tweeted Monday that a Republican repeal plan to portions of Obamacare, which is in a “death spiral,” would result in less expensive insurance premiums for customers.
“If our healthcare plan is approved, you will see real healthcare and premiums will start tumbling down. Obamacare is in a death spiral!” he wrote.
If our healthcare plan is approved, you will see real healthcare and premiums will start tumbling down. ObamaCare is in a death spiral!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 24, 2017
Though experts agree that Obamacare is not facing a death spiral, and that the exchanges have become more stable, some counties have struggled with premium increases and others have seen insurers flee the exchanges.
Trump and other Republicans have often said that Obamacare is “failing” and “falling under its own weight,” but healthcare providers and experts worry that the uncertainty over the law’s future could result in such apocalyptic predictions.
It also isn’t clear that the Republican alternative to Obamacare would result in reducing premium costs for consumers. A previous analysis of the bill that Republicans are advancing to repeal portions of Obamacare, called the American Health Care Act, projected that premiums under the plan would spike initially but would fall by 2020. It also projected deductibles and other out-of-pocket costs would soar.
The latest version of the bill has not been scored, however, and Republicans are negotiating its details. To lower premiums, the conservative House Freedom Caucus has been pressing for repeal of an Obamacare provision called “community rating,” which does not allow insurers to charge sicker patients more for coverage.
