Within his first 48 hours back in office, Donald Trump has signed several executive orders repealing directives expanding healthcare access and options for lower-income and middle-class Americans.
Those people whose coverage is now deemed at risk are the roughly 24 million Americans who have purchased their health insurance via the Affordable Care Act (ACA) this year. The ACA, also known as Obamacare, helped to expand Medicaid benefits and provides affordable health insurance to millions of people.
Trump’s actions this week will affect all aspects of the ACA, including eligibility requirements, federal subsidies and enrolment deadlines, which determine when Americans can apply for insurance, without repealing the act, which would take action from the US Congress. But the actions are expected to create more barriers and result in healthcare coverage becoming less accessible.
Additionally, Trump repealed executive orders aimed at reducing the cost of prescription drugs for people on the government health insurance programs Medicare and Medicaid that chiefly serve older and lower-income Americans.
Source: The Guardian, 22 January 2025
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