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President Trump signed an executive order on Thursday that he said would begin “saving the American people from the nightmare of Obamacare.” There’s a lot that’s still uncertain about how the order will change the health law. Here’s what we know so far. (Sanger-Katz, 10/12)

President Donald Trump may be eager to dismantle the Affordable Care Act after months of failed GOP repeal efforts, but his promise to provide millions of Americans "with Obamacare relief" with the executive order he signed Thursday is sure to collide with the slow grind of the federal bureaucracy. Trump’s order directs a trio of federal agencies to rewrite regulations to encourage the rise of a raft of cheap, loosely regulated health insurance plans that don't have to comply with certain Obamacare consumer protections and benefit rules. They're expected to attract younger and healthier people — leaving older and sicker ones in the Obamacare markets facing higher and higher costs. (Cancryn, 10/12)

President Donald Trump, frustrated by the lack of action in Congress to roll back the 2010 health care law, used an executive order he signed Thursday to direct three agencies to draft rules that would loosen regulations on insurance. The changes would allow more groups to use association health plans, lengthen the time an individual can be covered by a short-term insurance policy and allow employers to set aside pre-tax dollars for their employees to use for monthly premiums. The administration hopes the new rules would lead to cheaper health care options. (McIntire, 10/12)

Thursday’s executive order paves the way for a proliferation of less-expensive insurance plans with fewer benefits for those who buy their insurance individually, rather than getting it through an employer. A range of next steps are on the table, but White House officials said no final decisions have been made. (Armour, 10/13)

"The competition will be staggering," Trump said. "Insurance companies will be fighting to get every single person signed up. And you will be, hopefully, negotiating, negotiating, negotiating. And you will get such low prices for such great care." (Horsley, 10/12)

The broadly worded order leaves many key elements of the new plans uncertain, however, subject to a lengthy administrative process, which means the order’s impact will remain unclear, and the new plans unavailable to consumers, for this year’s open enrollment season and many months to come. Trump avoided that point as he formally released the order at the White House, declaring that it would “provide millions of Americans with Obamacare relief” and would “increase competition, increase choice and increase access to lower-priced, high-quality healthcare options.” (Levey, 10/12)

Kaiser Health News: Trump’s Order Advances GOP Go-To Ideas To Broaden Insurance Choices, Curb Costs
The executive order directs many agencies, including the Department of Labor, to consider proposing rules or new guidance to loosen current restrictions on what are called “association health plans” and on selling low-cost, short-term insurance. ... Associations are generally membership groups based on a profession or business. Proponents say allowing consumers to buy insurance through these organizations gives them more clout with insurers than they’d have buying their own plan on the individual market — and results in lower premiums. But the real savings in premiums is likely to come because the policies could offer fewer benefits than more regulated ACA plans, and the associations would have more leeway to set premiums based on the health of the group. (Appleby, 10/12)

Kaiser Health News: Facebook Live: Things To Know About Trump’s Directive On Health Insurance
The executive order that President Donald Trump signed Thursday touches on a range of GOP policy approaches — such as association health plans and short-term health insurance policies, among other things. This live chat features KHN senior correspondent Julie Appleby answering questions about how implementing these ideas could alter the current health insurance marketplace. (10/12)

While the administration characterized the order as a way to drive down rising premiums and expand coverage to more Americans, critics said it would undermine existing markets by encouraging healthier people to buy skimpier plans. That would likely lead premiums for Obamacare plans, which offer more encompassing coverage regardless of a person’s health history, to surge. (Rausch, 10/12)

Democrats warn that the order is part of Trump’s larger plan to “sabotage” the health-care law and accomplish on his own what Congress could not. (Sullivan, 10/12)

Business groups praised the president's action, saying the ACA has made insurance too expensive, particularly for small employers, and imposed too many rules. A number of congressional Republicans agreed, with U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan, a conservative Ohioan, saying Trump "is doing what voters sent him here to do." (Koff, 10/12)

The Trump administration continues to take action that could weaken the Affordable Care Act and curtail enrollment in coverage under the law. (Park, 10/12)

Here are all the ways the president is trying to dismantle the law without help from Congress. (Millman, 10/12)