On Thursday President Donald Trump moved forward with an executive order that, among other changes, would ease restrictions on short-term health policies and allow small businesses to join together and buy health insurance through so-called "association health plans."

The administration says the order offers "relief from Obamacare's oppressive mandates and regulations" that it is says drove up costs and reduced quality.

"It will empower employers to offer more affordable health coverage and to provide their employees with the opportunity to exercise greater choice and control over their healthcare," said Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator, Seema Verma, in a statement.

Critics immediately weighed in, accusing the White House of being "irresponsible," trying "sabotage" the Affordable Care Act and attempting to destabilize the existing marketplace.

"If President Trump really wanted to lower premiums in the individual market and encourage participation and competition among insurers, he would fully fund the cost-sharing reduction payments and give insurers long-term certainty," said U.S. Congressman Gene Green of the 29th Congressional District of Texas.

The proposal would allow "junk plans" that are exempt from certain requirements, like the coverage of essential health benefits. It's not a bipartisan solution, said Green, also a ranking member of the Energy & Commerce Subcommittee on Health.

Still, it could take months to bring about the proposed changes, and they may not be finalized in time to affect coverage for 2019, much less next year, reports from The Associated Press.

Here are some key things Texans should know if they intend to shop on healthcare.gov for ACA-compliant health insurance plans that will go into effect in January.

1. TEXAS ' 2018 RATES ARE STILL NOT APPROVED

The rates that health insurance companies requested for their Affordable Care Act-compliant health plans that will be sold in Texas are not yet approved.

A spokesperson for the CMS said the window shopping feature that allows consumers to preview the plans in advance will be "available soon," along with other resources. But the agency declined to provide specifics. And it said the target date to post the final rates is Nov. 1, the same day open enrollment starts.

2. THERE WILL BE LESS TIME TO SHOP

Open enrollment starts Nov. 1 and runs through Dec.15.

That's about 45 days shorter than previous years. "So you really have to start early," suggested Karen Pollitz, a senior fellow focused on market reform and consumer protections for the Kaiser Family Foundation.

Even before efforts repeal the health law were in plan, healthcare.gov experienced surges ahead of the enrollment deadline, which caused technical difficulties and led to frustrating delays for those trying to make their elections. "People are used to having the option to wait to the last minute," Pollitz said.

"You need to know that the last minute got moved up this year."

3. PLAN FOR OUTAGES

Navigators and other staff whose role it is to help people sign up for marketplace health plans were told Friday by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to expect healthcare.gov to be down during the following open enrollment time-frames.

Screenshot from a Sept. 22 presentation to navigators about website outages to anticipate during 2017-18 open enrollment (Center for Public Policy Priorities)

On Nov. 1 — the day open enrollment begins — there will be an "overnight outage." Then, every Sunday between Nov. 5 and Dec. 3, the website will be down for twelve hours at a time, from midnight to noon.

Faith-based organizations that offer assistance on Sunday mornings will be significantly impacted, said Daniel Bouton, director of community health services for the Community Council of Greater Dallas, a nonprofit that gets a federal grant to help with enrollment.

4. YOU CAN STILL BE FINED

Legislative provisions of the ACA are still in force until changed by the Congress, "and taxpayers remain obligated to follow the law and pay what they may owe," according to a post on the IRS website, which was last updated Sept. 21.

The penalty for not having health insurance is set at $695 per adult in a family, $347.50 per child under 18, or up to 2.5 percent of the family income.

5. EXPECT TO PAY MORE

Nationally, insurers have requested increases of about 20 percent on average, slightly less than previous years.

In Texas, the requested increases range from less than 1 percent to over 53 percent. Those rates are still awaiting federal approval.

6. SUBSIDIES REMAIN AVAILABLE

The subsidies to reduce monthly premiums remain in effect for those making up to 400 percent of the poverty level. To put it in context, that's a salary range between $12,060 and $48,240 for a single person, and an salary range between $24,600 and $98,400 for a family of four.

Still, as in previous years, the concern is for the population with an income too high to qualify for the financial help, says conservative Dallas-based health economist, Devon Herrick.

As costs go up, people begin to say 'wait a minute,' he said. "And they decide not to take their chances. A few of them will probably drop out because of that."

7. A LAPSE CAN COME BACK TO HAUNT YOU

Insurers can ask for back-premiums if you let a policy lapse in 2017, Pollitz noted.

For example, if you stopped making monthly payments in June for a policy that ran through the end of December, but never called the insurer to cancel, they may refuse to offer you a new plan.

"They can assume that’s bad debt," Pollitz said, "and ask you to pay back the premiums for the months they think you owe.

8. THERE'S LESS ENROLLMENT HELP

The amount of grant money provided to help nonprofits to staff navigators trained to help consumers understand their options was reduced from $62.5 million to $36.8 million.

One Dallas-based group said this week that it will get about a half a million dollars less, putting a dent on the amount of outreach and and education it would be able to do.

Generally speaking, larger cities should be OK. But people in rural areas will struggle the most finding help, said Elizabeth Hagan, associate director of coverage initiatives for Families USA.

"Texas is such a big state with a high number of uninsured. So the problem is more profound in Texas because of that," she said.

This story was updated from its original version, which posted Sept. 22, to include new information following an executive order issued by the White House on Oct. 12.