States sue over Trump cutting off ACA insurer subsidies
Eighteen states and the District of Columbia have announced a lawsuit against the administration of President Donald Trump over his move to halt payment of cost-sharing reduction subsidies, or CSRs, to insurers on the Affordable Care Act (ACA) exchanges.
The subsidies had been approved only on a month-to-month basis thanks to a lawsuit filed by House Republicans against President Barack Obama which successfully argued in federal court that the payments had to be appropriated by Congress. HHS announced on Oct. 12 the payments would end “immediately,” and state attorneys general quickly responded with promises to pursue legal action.
“They’re refusing to comply with federal law in a way that will hike the cost of care for millions of Americans by withholding critical subsidies that make care more affordable,” said California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, according to CNBC.
The CSRs compensate insurers for lowering out-of-pocket costs for low-income ACA exchange enrollees. Many of those customers, however, will be shielded from insurers’ premium increases as a result of the uncertainty surrounding the payments, leaving the full brunt of the hikes to be felt mostly by ACA customers who earn above 400 percent of the federal poverty line, the cutoff for receiving premium support subsidies.
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John joined TriMed in 2016, focusing on healthcare policy and regulation. After graduating from Columbia College Chicago, he worked at FM News Chicago and Rivet News Radio, and worked on the state government and politics beat for the Illinois Radio Network. Outside of work, you may find him adding to his never-ending graphic novel collection.