A group of Democratic state AGs is pushing back against proposed changes from the Trump administration aimed at gutting the Affordable Care Act.
The Trumpers want to make it difficult and expensive for individuals to enroll in health coverage on federal and state exchanges, and also prohibit DACA recipients from buying health insurance on the exchanges.
The changes would take 2 million Americans of the health-insurance rolls next year, which, all that really does is raise the cost of health insurance for everybody else, because it’s not like those 2 million people aren’t going to get sick.
If we had an attorney general with a backbone, Virginia would be involved in the pushback.
But, no, Glenn Youngkin wore a red vest in the late summer and fall of 2021, and enough people thought that made him sufficiently Never Trumper enough to vote him in as governor, and carry Jason Miyares across the finish line as our AG.
Which means, we need to rely on people like Maryland’s attorney general, Anthony G. Brown, to do the right thing.
“The Trump administration’s proposals would make healthcare more expensive, limit Marylanders’ access to plans that cover essential medical services, and cause millions of people to lose their health coverage altogether,” Brown said. “All Marylanders, regardless of their immigration status or gender identity, should be able to access insurance that meets their needs and allows them to live safe, healthy lives.”
What the MAGAs are trying to do
In 2024, the Department of Health and Human Services and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services released a Final Rule increasing patient access to state and federal exchanges under the ACA. This rule allows DACA recipients, also known as Dreamers, who are allowed to live and work in this country pursuant to deferred action, to purchase affordable health insurance on Affordable Care Act exchanges.
Last month, the Trump administration initiated the process of trying to undo this rule. If allowed to go into effect, the plan would deny DACA recipients access to insurance, even in the middle of the year, when they are counting on this insurance for their medical care.
Removing such access harms states, too; if these residents lose access to preventive medical care currently covered by their insurance, they may need to seek more expensive emergency room care, thereby harming both public health and the economic well-being for communities across the state.
The proposed new rule would also force all state ACA exchanges to shorten their open enrollment periods and would allow health insurance plans to deny enrollment to anyone who has ever missed even a single payment for a health insurance premium regardless of how long ago the missed payment occurred.
Insurers would not be required to notify their consumers if they implement this policy, which means that consumers could be denied coverage without being aware that their denial is based on a past-due premium. In previous rulemaking, the federal government understood that nonpayment could be due to a variety of factors and that insurers currently have sufficient methods to collect past-due payments.
In addition, the rule would prohibit states from including coverage for gender-affirming care as an essential health benefit, representing a dangerous intrusion into the doctor-patient relationship.
The Trump administration claims, without evidence, that gender-affirming care is rarely covered in employer-based health plans. In fact, surveys indicate that coverage for these benefits has expanded significantly, with 72 percent of Fortune 500 companies offer gender-affirming care in 2024, up from 0 percent in 2002.
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Chris Graham
