‘Stabilize Obamacare’:

America

Trump

Kushner

“Obamacare” is proving more of a challenge than the Trump administration bargained for.

With the “repeal and replace” effort at an impasse on Capitol Hill, the administration released on Thursday a set of fixes to stabilize the Affordable Care Act’s shaky insurance markets for next year. But the insurance industry quickly said the changes don’t go far enough.

While calling the administration action a step in the right direction, the industry is looking for a guarantee that the government will also keep paying billions in “cost-sharing” subsidies that help consumers with high deductibles. President Donald Trump says he hasn’t made up his mind on that.

Republicans contend that the Affordable Care Act, or ACA, is beyond repair, but their “repeal and replace” slogan hasn’t been easy to put into practice, or politically popular. So the administration is trying to keep the existing system going temporarily as it pursues a total remake.

Many of the changes follow recommendations from insurers, who wanted the government to address shortcomings with HealthCare.gov markets, including complaints that some people are gaming the system by signing up only when they get sick, and then dropping out after being treated.

But the White House remained mum on the biggest concern. Insurers, doctors, hospitals and the business community have asked Trump to preserve ACA cost-sharing subsidies that pare down high deductibles and copayments for consumers with modest incomes. They’re separate from the better-known premium subsidies that most customers receive. (AP)