Ramesh Ponnuru, Columnist

Trump's Cure for Obamacare Is Worse Than the Disease

Using executive action to reduce fines on people without insurance would destabilize the entire system.

October 11, 2017 at 2:10 PM UTC

Ramesh Ponnuru is a former Bloomberg Opinion columnist. He is the editor of National Review and a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.

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On Twitter, President Donald Trump said he would be “using the power of the pen to give great HealthCare to many people — FAST.” He isn’t bluffing. His White House has been working on a series of executive actions on health insurance.

But his tweet is misleading. The most far-reaching action under consideration would not give anyone health care. Rather, it would dramatically reduce enforcement of Obamacare’s fines on people without insurance.