Why Trump’s Sabotage of Obamacare Is Terrible for Young People (and What You Can Do About It!)
The mainstream narrative portrays all young people as not needing insurance, but we know that’s the furthest thing from the truth. Amazing young activists showed up to say they need and deserve health care coverage and helped defeat the repeal of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in Congress over the past few months. But now, the Trump administration is sabotaging the ACA all by itself through executive actions. Here’s just a few ways these changes will be terrible for young folks:
Putting birth control out of reach by granting a License to Discriminate.
Two new Trump administration rules allow employers or universities to deny insurance coverage of contraception for religious or moral reasons. Young people deserve access to birth control no matter where they work or go to school, but instead, these rules will allow their boss or university president to make reproductive choice for them.
Outpricing young people out of reproductive agency
About 55 million women have received no copay birth control under the ACA. But before the ACA, more than half of young adult women couldn’t afford birth control. Young people cannot go back to choosing between their reproductive agency or paying their electric bill.
Offering junk plans that cover nothing.
Trump seeks to allow the sale of “junk” insurance plans, which don’t need to meet the requirements of the ACA. This means no protections for preexisting conditions. Affordable, quality coverage is crucial for young people, especially as they experience major life changes – like new jobs and new cities.
Cutting off assistance for low-income folks.
The Trump administration will stop paying cost-sharing assistance required by the ACA. These subsidies make healthcare more affordable for low-income people. Young people, who often face low wages and lack of insurance coverage, rely on this assistance for insurance coverage.
Hiding enrollment information.
How can young people, who have the least experience with and knowledge of insurance, be expected to navigate the confusing enrollment system alone? The Administration slashed 90% of the funding for ACA exchange enrollment advertising and 40% of the funding for enrollments assistance, in addition to shutting down the enrollment website during prime hours. Enrollment outreach is critical to the success of the ACA, especially for young people!
PSA: Open enrollment is November 1 – December 15 on healthcare.gov!
Breaking a system that works.
The Affordable Care Act works for young people. Under the ACA, uninsured rates for young people were at a historic low of about 14%. Young people made up about two-thirds of people who were able to gain insurance coverage in 2015-2016 alone.
Tweet at Trump.
The ACA removed an enormous economic barrier to healthcare access for millions of young people. Raise your voice on Trump’s favorite medium – Twitter – to tell him to stop sabotaging your care!
