Presenting the REVISED 3-Legged Stool!

Yes, I'm still fiddling around with the 3-Legged Stool metaphor. I wasn't gonna mess with it any further, but gvien that Donald Trump has decided that making healthcare the biggest topic of the 2020 election cycle (again) is a brilliant strategy for the Republican Party, I figured it was time for an update.

The version below includes a bunch of changes; some are corrections; others are enhancements:

• Moved "Maximum Out-of-Pocket Costs" to the Blue Leg, since that's really a carrier covrerage requirement.

• Added "Stay on Parents Plan until Age 26" to the Blue Leg. I never had it listed before, not sure why.

• Added "Health Insurance Exchanges" to the Green Leg. I never had them actually listed on the graphic, but they're an important Government Responsibility, after all.

• Highlighted the seven largest problems with the 3-Legged Stool framework. Four of them were always part of the ACA (APTC cap; CSR cap; MOOP too high; network adequacy issues). The other three were deliberately caused by the GOP, Trump or both (CSR cut-off, Individual Mandate repeal, HC.gov marketing & navigator budget cuts).

Put them all together and this is what the Stool looks like as of April, 2019. It's rickety, it's shaky, but it's still standing...for now:

As a reminder, here's what the Stool was originally envisioned to look like: