Trump signs healthcare order to expand Obamacare access

WASHINGTON—President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday to give more Americans relief from Obamacare. The new order directs government agencies to find ways under existing law to expand the use of association health plans to target the 28 million Americans not covered under the Affordable Care Act. “This will cost the United States government virtually nothing and people will have great, great healthcare,” Trump said. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., who joined the president for the signing ceremony, said he’s worked with the White House for months on the order. He claims the order is the biggest free-market reform of healthcare in a generation and will allow millions of people to get insurance across state lines at lower rates. Trump still wants Congress to pass legislation to repeal and replace Obamacare, but the president said the executive order will provide Americans relief in the interim. The executive order’s implementation will take months, and the process won’t be completed in time to affect the market before this year’s open enrollment period begins Nov. 1. The order also instructs the departments of Labor and Health and Human Services to report back to the president within 180 days with recommendations on how to increase choice for Americans while Obamacare remains in place.