Executive Order 13765: Minimizing Economic Burden of the Affordable Care Act
On January 20, 2017, President Trump signed Executive Order 13765, directing federal agencies to exercise all existing powers to reduce the economic and regulatory burden of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The order instructed agencies to waive, defer, or delay ACA provisions and requirements where permitted by law. Confirmed direct impacts included delays in enforcement of the individual mandate penalty, expanded availability of short-term health plans outside ACA regulations, and expansion of association health plans, resulting in millions of Americans becoming eligible for health coverage plans not subject to ACA requirements.