Trump Considers Healthcare: The Art of the Deal, Again.
After years of vowing to 'repeal and replace' the Affordable Care Act (ACA), often without a viable replacement, Trump's alleged pivot on Obamacare subsidies is pure political theater. This isn't about ensuring healthcare for millions; it's about polling numbers in an election year. Remember when his administration ended cost-sharing reduction payments in 2017, explicitly trying to sabotage the
ACA market? That move, according to the Congressional Budget Office, actually increased the federal deficit by saddling the government with higher subsidy costs. So, the 'deal' is, he broke it, and now he’s ‘considering’ fixing part of it, likely to claim credit for a system he previously tried to burn down. How many times must a politician dismantle a functioning program before he’s allowed to be
celebrated for maybe, possibly, putting a band-aid on it? It seems some policies are only good when they can be branded with a certain name.