Future Of Health Insurance: When Will Obamacare Be Repealed And What Happens Next?

GettyImages-458174890 — Supporter James Hughes holds a sign calling for the repeal of the Affordable Care Act during a rally for Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell in Louisville, Kentucky, Oct. 31, 2014. Getty

President Donald Trump must release a detailed plan to replace the Affordable Care Act or health insurance companies may start pulling out of coverage nationwide, insurance industry leaders warned during testimony before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Wednesday.

The future of health insurance has become increasingly uncertain under Trump. He campaigned heavily on the promise to repeal and replace former President Barack Obama’s landmark national healthcare law, repeatedly calling the national law commonly known as Obamacare “a disaster.” However, Trump has not yet commented on the specifics of his own plan for health care.

In one of his first decisions as president, Trump signed an executive order that was rather light on details, allowing federal agencies to “ease the burden of Obamacare” until it could be fully repealed and replaced. Trump has promised that his plan would be more affordable and cover more people, though no further specifics have been released.

Health insurance plans must decide within the next few months whether they will remain in the marketplace for the upcoming year, making it imperative for Trump to release a more concrete plan as soon as possible. If the government ends the Affordable Care Act’s subsidies or other significant portions of the law, health insurers likely won’t remain in the marketplace for the upcoming year, some at the hearing argued.

“I think we would lose more insurance companies,” said Marilyn Tavenner, president of the industry trade group America’s Health Insurance Plans. Those who remained would likely hike prices by 20 percent, Tavenner added.

Trump said he would release a more comprehensive plan once his pick for secretary of Health and Human Services, Tom Price, was confirmed. The Senate Finance Committee approved Price’s nomination Wednesday and sent it to the Senate for a vote. Price has repeatedly voiced his opposition to the Affordable Care Act and spearheaded a proposal to repeal and replace the plan.