What are the presidential candidate's healthcare plans? Here's what we know.
Healthcare: We all need it, but not everyone agrees on where it should come from, whom (or even what) it should cover, or how much it should cost.
Healthcare: We all need it, but not everyone agrees on where it should come from, whom (or even what) it should cover, or how much it should cost.
To be fully transparent here, I had originally intended on looking at both presidential candidates’ healthcare plans, analyzing what and whom they would cover, and coming up with a final number for your healthcare bills in 2021. Unfortunately, there isn’t much out there when it comes to the presidential candidates’ plans… so instead we will explore how you’ll be covered in 2021 and what that means for you.
What we know about Trump’s health plan
Honestly, we don’t know a lot. There have been recent conversations around specific healthcare issues: pre-existing conditions, affordability, and the government’s role in all of this, but, overall, no big moves have been made by the current administration.
In the past four years, the Trump Administration has made major changes to the previous administration's healthcare initiatives, and critics worry it has left many Americans without coverage.
President Trump recently signed an executive order stating, “It has been and will continue to be the policy of the United States to give Americans seeking healthcare more choices, lower costs, and better care and to ensure that Americans with pre-existing conditions can obtain the insurance of their choice at affordable rates.” Though, the order doesn’t have much to say when it comes to actual policy.
Here’s what President Trump has to say about this plan:
What we know about Biden’s health plan
On the other hand, Biden lists a few specific healthcare goals on his website:
- Giving Americans a new choice, a public health insurance option like Medicare.
- Increasing the value of tax credits to lower premiums and extend coverage to more working Americans.
- Expanding coverage to low-income Americans.
- Lower costs and improve health outcomes by partnering with the health care workforce.
All of these things sound great, but we won’t know what he is actually capable of unless he wins the election.
Here is Biden’s explanation of his plan:
Will pre-existing conditions be covered in 2021?
With the dawn of COVID, this question is even more loaded. Is COVID-19 considered a pre-existing condition? What will we do with our “new normal”?
During the VP debate, Vice Presidential candidate Kamala Harris shared: “If you have a pre-existing condition, heart disease, diabetes, breast cancer, they’re coming for you.” But, current Vice President Mike Pence disagreed, citing President Trump’s executive order.
Essentially, the answer to this question is a big giant question mark. Because of the pandemic, many people who didn’t have a pre-existing condition before COVID are now on the edge of their seats waiting for the answer.
What does healthcare have to do with financial independence or early retirement?
Think about it this way: how many times have you stayed at a crappy job just because you needed the health insurance? I’m sure I’m not the only one who has done it! Now, multiply that by millions of workplaces and health plans and a compelling picture arises: we are chained to our corporate jobs because of healthcare.
Frankly, it’s an unfair burden to put healthcare costs on both employees and companies. Especially in a pandemic/economic downturn that has cost millions their jobs, and thus their access to insurance. Actually, The Commonwealth Fund did the math on this. Because of COVID-19, 7.7 million employees have lost both their job and their healthcare. When you factor in dependents, this comes to a staggering 14.6 million individuals who have lost health coverage… during a pandemic! *Yikes!*
If you want to have the freedom to create your ideal life, you’ll ideally not be interested in being chained to employer healthcare options!
Healthcare has always been a hot topic during the election, but, now that we're in a pandemic that has no end in sight, affordable access to healthcare is vital.
What are your healthcare options in the meantime?
You can do what Steve, the founder of Think Save Retire, did when he retired at 35 and join a healthshare. Though, this may be a tricky option if you have a pre-existing condition as healthshares are known to be particularly strict about who is allowed to join.
Learn more about healthshares and other healthcare options that have nothing to do with your job here:
Or, you could live life on the edge like a lot of people do and go without insurance at all. This isn’t the most stable option. If something serious were to happen you might find yourself with some intense debt. If you are willing to take that risk, there are services you can use to still keep up with your health when you’re sick, such as MedCierge and other telehealth options.