I get that question several times a day. What changes are we looking at with TrumpCare? That’s the million dollar question. In reality, I don’t think the Group Health Plans that we have now will change much, at least not for several years. Trump is proposing that consumers, along with businesses, be able to purchase Group Health Insurance and Health Insurance in general across state lines. In theory, that sounds great. Regulation of those companies will need to be studied and we may need to go to some sort of Federal monitoring system.
Group Health Insurance, Employee Benefits probably won’t change much
What we know now is that the vast majority of people obtain their Health Insurance through work. Employee Benefits and Group Health Plans are a great way for companies to have a business deduction, offer some fantastic Employee Benefits to their workers, and employees can have their employer pay for part of the monthly premium of those Group Health Plans. I’m anticipating more employee choice in the marketplace as well, with the HSA concept expanding.
HSA plans will probably be expanded through TrumpCare in the 2020’s
One of the Trump concepts involves expanding HSA type Health Insurance plans….basically making it a savings vehicle for the future. I have to tell you, when the HSAs came out in 2004, I was a brand new broker, but saw them exploding in popularity. These days they are wildly successful. The only downside to the HSAs of today is that the pricing is not as attractive as years ago. Today, most HSA plans are equal to, or even more expensive than your normal PPO plan…why? Because ObamaCare has made it illegal for insurance companies to offer a plan (Bronze, Silver, Gold) that is not within 2% in “actuarial value” of the other plans in their category (Bronze, Silver, Gold). Basically, there is no more incentive to purchase a high deductible HSA plan.