BUSINESS/HEALTHCARE/OBAMACARE(ACA)/PRE-EXISTING CONDITIONS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The Trump administration is proposing changes that would let millions of small businesses and the self-employed buy health-insurance plans that don’t comply with all Affordable Care Act requirements, part of an aggressive move to undo the health law through regulatory action.
The proposal would allow businesses that share geography or an industry in common to form an association and sell members health policies that are exempt from some of the health law’s requirements, according to a senior Labor Department official. They would no longer have to comply with an ACA rule that they offer a mandatory array of benefits, such as substance-abuse treatment.
Supporters of the ACA fear associations would charge higher premiums to mom-and-pop businesses with higher health-care costs, segmenting the small business and individual insurance markets and driving up premiums for people who are older or have pre-existing health conditions.”
-Stephanie Armour, “Trump Administration Proposal Would Exempt Small Businesses From Some ACA Rules,” The Wall Street Journal online, Jan. 4, 2018 11:17am