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President Donald Trump has signed an executive order asking government agencies to scale back aspects of the Affordable Care Act, towards fulfilling his pledge to repeal Barack Obama’s signature healthcare law (Obamacare).
The one-page order signed after Trump’s inauguration on Friday, directs federal agencies to limit the “economic and regulatory burden” of the Affordable Care Act, as a prelude to a full repeal.
Obamacare came into effect in 2010 and has helped about 20 million uninsured Americans get health coverage.
In broad language, the order says agencies must allow states greater flexibility in carrying out healthcare programmes and directs them to grant waivers, exemptions, and delays to provisions that would impose costs on states or individuals
Larry Levitt – the vice-president of the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonpartisan health-system analysis group – said it was a “sign that the Trump administration is looking to unwind the law in every way it can administratively”.
In Friday’s inaugural speech, the US President promised a new approach to governance, acknowledging that his oath mandates him to put Americans first.
READ: Full text of President Donald Trump’s inauguration speech
He said that every decision during his administration would favour American workers and the masses.
President Trump also upheld his pre-election stance on terrorism and stressed the need to protect Americans from danger.