President Trump
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington DC 20500
13 April 2017
Dear President Trump:
In business, I am told, you sometimes need to play hardball when
negotiating. Very occasionally, you might even risk the whole company if the potential payoff is big enough. It takes nerves of
steel to play a game of chicken like that and I am sure it is an exciting thing
to do.
Last night you announced your intention to eliminate the Cost Sharing Reduction
Payments that are part of the Affordable Care Act. According to MSNBC, physician and industry
groups estimate that this would result in an average of a fifteen percent hike
in premiums for consumers. You stated
that this maneuver will bring your opponents back to the negotiating table.
Sir, you are not running a company right now. You are the president of a nation. You are not playing chicken with company assets. You are proposing to play chicken with the
health care premiums of real people – some of whom elected you, many of whom cannot afford a fifteen
percent hike and may lose their health care and suffer greatly as a
result.
Let me be clear. If you want to replace the
Affordable Care Act, do it as a statesman. Come
up with a proposal that will solve the problems with the health care system
and result in more Americans being covered. Then lay our your arguments in support of that system. If your proposal is a good one, your opponents from both sides of the aisle will see the value of compromise. If instead, your try to play chicken, it will end the way the fiscal cliff scenario ended a few years ago, with public outrage, loss of support, and nothing gained for either side.
Regards,
Bill Boerman-Cornell
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