Part of President Trump’s election campaign involved a pledge to repeal the Affordable Care Act, known popularly as “Obamacare”. It was regarded in Democrat circles as the flagship legislation of Obama’s tenure and was fiercely resisted by some Republicans in the Senate and Congress.
The President intends to force a vote on his proposals, the American Healthcare Act, in Congress today. However, the act is facing opposition from within his party with some claiming it goes too far and others that it is not bold enough. By forcing a vote in Congress, the Trump administration is hoping to force the party to back his position as the alternative would be to leave Obamacare in place.
The (Republican) Speaker of the House, Paul Ryan said: "For seven-and-a-half years we have been promising the American people that we will repeal and replace this broken law because it's collapsing and it's failing families, and tomorrow we're proceeding".
Critics of Trumps proposals (from across the aisle) suggest that it would leave more poor Americans without medical insurance. The Affordable Care Act was credited with insuring 20 million previously uncovered Americans. An objection to Obamacare had been that premiums were rising; Trump’s proposal, he claimed, would cover more Americans at a lower cost, but this claim has been challenged by the Congressional Budget Office, predicting that the number of uninsured would rise from the current level of 10 million to 24 million by 2026.
The issue is of relevance to the investment community because it is being seen as a test of the likelihood of Trump being able to get tax reforms through Congress and the Senate. Concerns about resistance to Trump’s legislative proposals has been blamed for recent downturns in major stock markets and the easing of the Dollar against the Yen, despite last week’s interest rate increase by the Federal Reserve which should have pushed the value of the Greenback higher against major currencies.