After Congress failed to repeal and replace Obamacare, President Trump signed an executive order designed to create some of the changes he wants without the need for Congressional approval. The order has three parts, all relying on federal agencies to make changes. Any changes from the agencies – which require soliciting public comment and submitting a report to the president – could take some time and will likely not occur until 2018 or even 2019.
The order asks:
- The Secretary of Labor to allow employers to consider expanding access to association health plans that permit employers to form groups across state lines;
- The Treasury, Labor, and Health and Human Services departments to consider allowing low-cost, short-term, limited duration insurance;
- Treasury, Labor, and HHS to consider expanding employers’ ability to offer Health Reimbursement Arrangements (HRAs) to their employees and to allow HRAs to be used in conjunction with nongroup coverage.
Dealers with questions may contact Ed Mullaney of WANADA at em@wanada.org.
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