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Jonathan Ernst | Reuters
President Donald Trump hosts a meeting of the National Space Council in the East Room of the White House in Washington, U.S., June 18, 2018.
The Trump administration on Tuesday issued a rule that will enable millions of Americans to buy skimpy health insurance plans that do not comply with key Obamacare coverage requirements, marking its latest effort to chip away at the Affordable Care Act.
The rule, which the Labor Department will post Tuesday, allows small businesses and those who are self-employed to band together and buy lower-cost health insurance policies, similar to large employers.
But these insurance plans would not be subject to requirements under the Affordable Care Act, which included mandatory coverage for 10 essential health benefits, such as maternity and newborn care, prescription drug costs and mental health treatment. They are expected to be far less expensive than Obamacare plans.
Health providers, insurers and medical groups have warned that the plans could drive up premiums and make insurance unaffordable for some people by siphoning healthy consumers who want cheaper coverage, leaving behind a pool of sicker patients with higher medical costs in ACA plans.
The rule is the Trump administration’s most recent effort to provide consumers with alternatives to Obamacare, former President Barack Obama’s signature domestic policy achievement. Republicans, who control both chambers of Congress and the White House, repeatedly failed last year to repeal and replace the law, a top presidential campaign promise of President Donald Trump.
