Donald Trump\u2019s recent statements and tweets have created confusion and chaos in the health insurance market, just as open enrollment for ACA\/Obamacare is about to begin, on November 1. He\u2019s making it sound like he has killed Obamacare for good. He\u2019s saying things like \u201cObamacare is dead. It\u2019s over. You might as well not even mention it. There is no Obamacare.\u201d But that is not true<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

You can<\/strong> get health insurance for 2018 on the ACA\/Obamacare exchanges. The program is still alive. The exchanges are still alive. You can still get health insurance with subsidized premiums. Trump would love for you to be confused and to just not even try. That would depress enrollment and help him sink the program that he hates\u2014not because he understands its purpose, its workings, or how it affects individual people and the overall economy, but simply because it bears the name \u201cObama.\u201d<\/p>\n

So, do not be confused. Do not give up. Trump is doing everything he can to make you think that you can\u2019t get health insurance for next year. And he\u2019s not just talking: He has taken administrative action to make it harder for you to enroll. But you definitely can still enroll and get health coverage for 2018. <\/strong><\/p>\n

He has shortened the enrollment period from the customary three months to only six weeks. [Enrollment opens on Wednesday, November 1, 2017. It ends on December 15, 2017.<\/strong>] Pay attention to those dates. Don\u2019t wake up on January 2 and say, \u201cGee, I should get healthcare insurance now. Oh, oops, I missed the deadline.\u201d Trump would love for that to happen. Don\u2019t let him fool you.<\/p>\n

He has reduced\u2014by 91 percent– the amount of money that will be spent on advertising the open enrollment period. So, you won\u2019t be hearing as much about it, seeing as many ads, or getting much snail mail, email or social media contact about open enrollment. But you can still get health insurance for 2018 through the ACA. <\/strong><\/p>\n

He has reduced\u2014by 41 percent overall\u2014the amount of money that the government will pay to the non-government organizations who are most likely to reach out to people eligible for ACA\/Obamacare enrollment — especially low-income people. Some of these groups have had their ACA\/Obamacare outreach budgets slashed by as much as 90 percent. So you won\u2019t be hearing as much from community organizations who used to remind you about open enrollment. But you can still get health insurance for 2018 through the ACA. <\/strong><\/p>\n

This vast reduction in funds has reduced the number of navigators who answer the ACA\/Obamacare phones and help you work through the enrollment documents. You\u2019re going to have to wait longer to connect with a navigator, and the person you talk with may not be as knowledgeable as those who had the job in previous years. But you can still get health insurance for 2018 through the ACA. <\/strong><\/p>\n

The big news last week was that Trump announced that he would immediately stop supporting the cost-sharing subsidies [CSR\u2019s] that reimburse insurers for reducing deductibles and co-pays for lower income Obamacare enrollees<\/em>. Until then, the administration had been paying these subsidies on a month-to-month basis.<\/p>\n

But this huge act of Trumpian sabotage does not let insurer off the hook entirely. \u201cInsurers must continue providing these cost-sharing discounts\u2014even though they won\u2019t be paid for them,\u201d<\/strong> notes CNN. \u201cThat\u2019s because the subsidies are required by the Affordable Care Act.\u201d<\/p>\n

So, if you qualify for premium subsidies\u2014which are separate and unaffected by the CSR payments<\/em>\u2014you won\u2019t have to pay much more, although you may need to switch plans to keep your rates steady. But you can still get health insurance for 2018 through ACA\/Obamacare.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Trump\u2019s moves will undoubtedly result in rate increases next year. So, your ACA\/Obamacare insurance plan could cost more. But you can still get health insurance for 2018 through ACA\/Obamacare, despite what Donald Trump would like you to think. ACA\/Obamacare is not dead<\/strong>. If this is the year when you have decided to sign up,or if you need to look into a new plan, you should definitely explore your options at healthcare.gov.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Donald Trump\u2019s recent statements and tweets have created confusion and chaos in the health insurance market, just as open enrollment for ACA\/Obamacare is about<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":38015,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2071,113,2826],"tags":[2843,1368],"yoast_head":"\n