On January 20, 2017, hours after being sworn in as the 45th president of the United States, President Donald Trump issued Executive Order 13765 that aims to “minimize the unwarranted economic and regulatory burdens” of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) while its repeal is “pending.” 

The one-page Executive Order declares that it is the policy of the Trump Administration to seek a “prompt repeal” of the ACA and directs that the executive branch “take all actions consistent with law to minimize the unwarranted economic and regulatory burdens” of the ACA.  The Executive Order also mandates that all federal agencies, including the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), “shall exercise all authority and discretion available to them to waive, defer, grant exemptions from, or delay the implementation of” any provision of the ACA that imposes a financial or regulatory burden on any stakeholder including patients, physicians, hospitals and other providers, as well as insurers, medical device manufacturers, and pharmaceutical companies.  Federal agencies are also required to “exercise all authority and discretion available to them to provide greater flexibility to States.”  The Executive Order further instructs agencies “to create a more free and open healthcare market” consistent with ACA replacement proposals to permit the sale of health insurance products across state lines. 

By signing the Executive Order, President Trump signals that his Administration will prioritize changes to federal health care policy in order to lessen the economic impact of the ACA.  The Executive Order could be a signal for HHS to expand hardship waivers to permit individuals to avoid the ACA’s tax penalties for individuals who fail to maintain coverage.  HHS also may provide greater flexibility to states for the administration of Medicaid programs, including by more readily granting waivers under section 1115 of the Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. § 1315.

The practical impact of the Executive Order remains unclear and is limited to agency discretion for now.  The Executive Order does not diminish the authority of federal agencies established by the ACA and requires agencies to implement the Order’s mandates in a manner consistent with current law.  Thus, HHS and other agencies must continue to comply with the requirements of prior legislation while exercising their discretion to minimize the financial burdens of the ACA.  In addition, the Executive Order does not provide a mechanism for private parties to enforce the Trump Administration’s new policy and states that it “is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against” the federal government.  The Executive Order appears to give lawmakers the ability to proceed more deliberately and the spotlight will now be on Congress to agree on a plan to repeal and replace the ACA.