Republicans have been saying over and over again that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) --otherwise known as Obamacare -- was failing. They've said that premiums were skyrocketing and those insurance providers were fleeing from the exchanges. That certainly paints a bleak picture of the health care law's future, but it's reportedly not as terrible as all that. A recent report by NBC News titled: "What's next for health care if GOP can't repeal Obamacare?", described the exchanges as being in fragile shape.

Against facts and in fighting

One article by Bloomberg titled: "Failing or doing fine?

How Obamacare's marketplaces are shaping up for 2018", shows that while some major insurance providers were leaving the market, some were expanding in many states and had even signed up before the deadline for next year. But, the headlines about the congressional efforts to kill the bill has certainly made an impact on those providers who are not sure whether they should continue to do business with the ACA or not. That has certainly made for a bumpy ride for those providers.

Aside from a few Republicans who are suggesting they come together with Democrats to fix the current problems with the ACA, there is no indication that that would be the next step. At least not without another vote. In fact, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said last week that Senate Republicans would hold a vote this week on a repeal bill they passed in 2015 but had been vetoed by then-President Obama.

The foresight here is that Republicans will have problems getting votes for that effort too. Any more time spent on repealing and replacing a seven-year-old health care bill would be seen as more time wasted and Republicans are already pointing fingers at each other for not killing Obamacare.

Trump would rather kill ACA than let Democrats win

That only leaves one option for someone who has no qualms about inciting or leading disastrous agendas, President Trump. In the NBC News article referred to above, it points out that Trump has already said he wanted to withhold cost-sharing reduction payments which are owed to insurance companies that are part of the exchange.

That would mean billions of dollars that are used to lower deductibles for low-income customers withheld by the President, just to force insurance providers to flee the exchange.

Those same insurers said that they were already going to raise premiums for the next year and some had already threatened to pull out of more countries. Now that the deadline has passed for those insurers to sign up in time for next year, there is a good view of the overall shape of the exchanges. But Trump's effort to sabotage the law will no doubt make the 2018 deadline even more uncertain. President Trump's effort to do this will certainly bring on a new fight, a new test for Congress to wrangle with and more pressure on the courts.
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