JD Vance on what Trump's healthcare plan actually is: "Deregulating the insurance markets so that people can choose a plan that actually makes sense for them." pic.twitter.com/gYhFBubovT — Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) September 15, 2024
This would appear to roll back some of the Affordable Care Act, which got rid of insurance companies’ ability to deny coverage based on preexisting conditions. Prior to President Obama’s legislation, it was difficult to get affordable health care coverage except through Medicare, Medicaid, or employer-based plans. While health care plans were available outside of that, insurers sought profits by weeding out people likely to require medical care.
Vance said that under Donald Trump’s plan, Americans wouldn’t be put “into the same risk pools.” In other words, healthier young people wouldn’t be in the same risk pool as older people more likely to need medical care, lowering costs for younger Americans. But doing so, as Vance suggests, would come at the expense of much higher charges for everyone else—especially older Americans and those with pre-existing conditions. Right now, the law allows insurance companies to bill older people up to three times as much as they do for the young, Vance is talking about making that gap even higher.