Trump's new "affordable" Obamacare plan could slam families with $31,000 deductibles.

Junk insurance is back! And, if this is what the Trump administration calls "lowering costs," buckle up.

Under a sweeping new proposal, the administration would allow Obamacare plans with deductibles soaring past $15,000 for individuals and a jaw-dropping $31,000 for families - meaning families could be on the hook for tens of thousands of dollars before insurance pays a dime.

Yes, you read that correctly.

The pitch? Lower monthly premiums.

The catch? Catastrophic out-of-pocket bills that could financially devastate middle-class families.

Dr. Mehmet Oz, now overseeing the ACA marketplaces, says the goal is "lower costs, more choice." But health policy experts aren't buying it.

"Nobody wants that product," said Harvard economist Amitabh Chandra. "It's going to be a really cheap product that nobody wants." In other words, a cheaper sticker price, but the fine print could wreck you.

The proposal would expand so-called "catastrophic" or "skinny" plans - once intended as a last-resort option - and open the door to policies with no established network of doctors or hospitals. Some plans would pay a flat fee for services, leaving patients to cover any difference.

If you can't find a doctor who accepts that rate? You pay the gap.

And it gets worse. The administration's own estimates suggest up to two million people could drop coverage by 2027 under these changes. Adult dental care would no longer count as an essential benefit. Enrollment rules could tighten. Consumer protections could weaken.

Critics say this isn't reform - it's shifting risk onto patients. This is exactly the type of nearly worthless health insurance that the Affordable Care Act was designed to eliminate.

"There's no doubt that we have an affordability crisis," said Dr. Joseph Betancourt of the Commonwealth Fund. "As we move forward to shifting more of the burden to patients, there's a chance to really exacerbate the crisis."

And families are already struggling. More than a million people have dropped Obamacare this year after enhanced subsidies expired - a move Republicans allowed to happen.

Supporters argue that high deductibles will make Americans "shop smarter" for care. But try "shopping smarter" in an emergency room.

For a family managing diabetes, cancer, or a sudden hospitalization, a $31,000 deductible isn't "choice." It's catastrophe. And critics warn this plan could normalize exactly that.

When the rest of the world gets the universal health coverage that all humans deserve, Trump is sending healthcare back to the dark ages of denied coverage for pre-existing conditions.

It's time to demand the end of for-profit healthcare and medical bankruptcies. It's time to demand a "Medicare for All" plan that actually serves the entire population of the country.