Week ahead: Trump takes on ObamaCare

President Trump took little time to begin targeting ObamaCare.

On Friday, hours after being sworn in, he signed an executive order that directs federal agencies to ease the “regulatory burden” of the law.

The order, though, came with few specifics, and all eyes are on the practical effects going forward.

And there could be more actions to come, with Kellyanne Conway, a top Trump adviser, saying the administration could stop enforcing the ObamaCare mandate that Americans get health insurance.

Republicans also have set their sights on ObamaCare’s essential health benefits, which set standards for the healthcare services insurance plans must cover.

The Trump administration has some leeway to loosen those rules, which Republicans say would lead to cheaper, less comprehensive plans becoming available.

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The administration could also cancel ObamaCare payments known as cost-sharing reductions, which reimburse insurers for giving discounted deductibles to low-income enrollees. House Republicans argue the payments are being made unconstitutionally without an appropriation, but immediately canceling them would likely cause chaos in the market as insurers dropped out or hiked their premiums.

Meanwhile, Congress is vowing to plow ahead on repealing ObamaCare. Next Friday, Jan. 27, is the deadline set by the recently adopted budget for committees to produce their sections of the ObamaCare repeal bill. However, lawmakers have emphasized that there is no penalty for missing that deadline, and it seems likely that Congress will not make it.

Lawmakers still need to work out the details of the repeal bill and deal with concerns among many lawmakers about the need to have a replacement ready at the same time.

President Trump has also said that he wants repeal and replace to happen “simultaneously,” though it will be a tall task to get a replacement bill ready anytime soon.

Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga.), the nominee for Secretary of Health and Human Services, will have his second confirmation hearing on Tuesday, this time before the Senate Finance Committee, which will actually vote on his nomination.

Democrats have been grilling Price over his trades of medical company stocks while a member of Congress, but Republicans have been defending him and there is no sign that he will not be confirmed.

At his first hearing, Price did not get into the details of any ObamaCare replacement plan, but spoke only in broad terms about wanting everyone to have “access” to coverage.

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