GOP Frontrunner Donald Trump Releases Health Plan

The presidential candidate making the most noise in the race to the White House has finally revealed a health care plan. Republican presidential hopeful and businessman Donald J. Trump laid out a seven-point health care reform plan this week, promising to repeal Obamacare on the first day of his administration.

While the plan published on Wednesday evening does not provide many specific policies beyond reforms and a complete dismantling of the Affordable Care Act, Trump does intend to make significant changes. The question of how the plan would impact the home health care industry remains. The Trump campaign did not respond to media requests from Home Health Care News.

By abolishing Obamacare, the Trump plan would eliminate the individual mandate for health care insurance. This position is a reversal for Trump, who said he liked the mandate in February.

Advertisement

The plan, which focuses heavily on a private-based, competitive market, also seeks to bolster Health Savings Accounts (HSAs), with tax-free contributions and no penalties. Another cornerstone of the plan would block grant Medicaid funding to states, which is a popular position among conservatives. A similar block grant restructuring plan would cut federal spending by $913 billion over the next decade, according to the Congressional Budget Office. An estimated 14 million people are covered through Medicaid expansion.

There is little indication of how home health care patients receiving services under Medicaid would be affected by passing the funding to the states and eliminating federal Medicaid expansion.

“The state governments know their people best and can manage the administration of Medicaid far better without feral overhead,” Trump’s plan states.

Advertisement

The plan would also “require price transparency from all health care providers,” according to Trump’s website.

While it’s unclear how Trump’s plan would impact the home health and home care industries, other presidential candidates in both parties have taken a more direct stance on the issue of aging in place.

Earlier this year, the National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC) endorsed presidential candidates former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Ohio Governor John Kasich over their records on home health care. Both candidates have spoken about supporting home care and hospice services over their political careers, according to NAHC.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-VT), a candidate fighting for the Democratic presidential nomination, has put forth a single-payer plan. He recently stated that seniors issues have’t gotten enough attention. He even went so far as to say that aging in place is a civil rights issue and that the government should be doing more to provide resources for those who want to be cared for at home. However, questions have emerged over the expenses tied to Sanders’ plan and its ability to be funded.

On Thursday—just one day after Trump releases his health care plan—former Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney spoke publicly to condemn Trump’s policy ideas and bid for the presidency.

Written by Amy Baxter

Photo courtesy of Matt Johnson.

Companies featured in this article: