Protect Our Care Illinois (POCIL) stands in strong opposition to the executive order signed by the Trump administration today which will undermine consumer protections in both the ACA and the state of Illinois insurance code by expanding association health plans and short term insurance plans.

This executive order is a blatant effort to sabotage the ACA. By creating a loophole for groups and individuals to buy skimpier health plans, the order promises to gut key consumer protections—like those for pre-existing conditions and lifetime caps—destabilize the marketplace, cause premiums to skyrocket, and ultimately reduce access to healthcare. Though all of us will pay the price, sicker consumers, older adults, and working families will be hit hardest.

This could also create a scenario in which plans will be permitted to circumvent not just the ACA’s protections, but the protections enacted by the state of Illinois through our own legislature and insurance code. This is not state flexibility—it’s a race to the bottom for insurance, which states who wish to do good may be powerless to stop.

POCIL, like the majority of Americans, believes that all people deserve access to high quality, affordable health insurance. It is undeniable that this executive order moves us further from this goal. POCIL calls on the Trump administration to rescind this order and urges the Illinois Congressional Delegation, Governor Bruce Rauner, and other elected officials to speak out against this dangerous order.