On Friday, the federal government distributed $30 billion of the $100 billion in grant funding from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act to hospitals and other health care providers. Doled out by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the money is intended to help providers stay afloat and ramp up operations during the coronavirus pandemic.

But the seemingly ho-hum, bureaucratic news contained a striking decision: rather than lean on Obamacare to cover patients, the Trump administration opted to directly cover the costs of COVID-19 treatment for the uninsured. It was a move — repudiating the Affordable Care Act in favor of a quasi–single-payer approach — that will have significant consequences for the future of American health care reform. And one that threatens significant pitfalls for mainstream Democrats, who are in danger of appearing outflanked by Trump on health care.