President Trump’s Affordable Care Act (ACA) executive order may not affect your health benefits in the short term, but his promise to repeal and replace the ACA makes it likely that major changes are on their way.

Once the Trump administration assembles its team, the new republican Congress can use a majority vote to unilaterally pass budget reconciliation legislation, effectively crippling the existing system by repealing the employer and individual mandates, individual subsidies at the health insurance exchanges, the expansion of Medicaid and ACA-related taxes.

Please know that any new legislation would require corresponding regulations that would need to be drafted, subjected to comment, and finalized. These additional steps could delay any substantive changes to employer health benefit plans by several more months.

Western Growers Insurance Services will continue to monitor these and other healthcare developments, work to cut through the noise, and deliver the relevant facts that affect WG members. If you have any questions regarding how these potential changes to healthcare law may impact your business, please contact Mike Deary, Assistant Vice President Sales Administration of Western Growers Insurance Services at (949) 885-2391.