Obamacare Enrollment Surges After Election, Trump Reconsiders Promise To End It
Besides claiming that he’ll build a massive wall on the U.S.-Mexico border and banning all Muslims, one of Trump’s biggest campaign promises was a complete overhaul of President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act. But, following a surge in the program’s enrollment after the election, Trump has backed off of his position.
“That’s an indication of the success of the program when you consider the intense demand that people have for these services and for these opportunities … and [they] are only available because of the Affordable Care Act,” said White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest, speaking on the program’s increased enrollment.
According to the Wall Street Journal, after meeting with Obama, Trump has chosen to maintain two of the most important parts of the existing healthcare plan, which is no longer denying patients coverage for pre-existing conditions and extending children’s coverage on their parents plans.
This decision provides some interesting context given that it completely contradicts one of the many promises that Trump made during his campaign to win over voters. It leads one to believe that he’ll take a similar approach with other plans as well.
Perhaps Trump’s entire plan was to make such extreme promises so that he could attempt to pacify both parties when he eventually backed off and found a compromise. Only time will tell.