ACA subsidy cut to hit NW Ga.

More than 16,000 in Floyd and surrounding counties buy their insurance through the state’s exchange.

More than 3,500 Floyd County residents buy their insurance through the state’s Affordable Care Act exchange, according to data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Another 12,800 are enrolled in the six surrounding Northwest Georgia counties of Chattooga, Polk, Bartow, Gordon, Catoosa and Walker.

President Donald Trump announced last week that he would stop making key subsidy payments to insurers — although the full effect on the 2018 ACA coverage that starts Nov. 1 remains unclear.

The cost-sharing reduction subsidies reimburse insurers for discounts they give policyholders with incomes under 250 percent of the federal poverty line, about $30,000 a year for an individual.

But cutting off the payments does not mean those people will no longer get help.

The law, and insurance company contracts with the federal government, still require those discounts be granted.

Those who will be hit hardest are the people who buy their own individual insurance but earn too much to get the subsidy.

Georgia Insurance Commissioner Ralph Hudgen’s office has approved rate hikes of more than 50 percent for three of the state’s four insurers, in anticipation of losing the CSR payments, Georgia Health News is reporting. Kaiser Foundation Health sought a 30-percent increase but officials there are now weighing their options.

In Floyd County, 67.3 percent of the enrollees — 2,411 policy-holders — get CSR assistance, which topped $4.1 million in 2016. That leaves 1,174 to bear the full impact of the premium spike.

In Polk County, 1,075 of the 1,474 enrollees this year have the CSR, equal to 72.9 percent. The federal government paid $2.1 million in subsidies for 2016, which is the most recent information available through the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

In Chattooga County, 598 of the 784 enrollees, equal to 64.8 percent, get the subsidy. Total payments for 2016 were $860,988.

Bartow County has 4,401 enrollees, with 2,866, equal to 65.1 percent, receiving CSR help. Payments last year totaled close to $4.3 million.

Gordon County has 1,843 enrollees this year and 1,262 of them, equal to 68.5 percent, receive a subsidy. Payments last year were just over $1.8 million.

In Walker County, 1,450 of the 2,176 enrollees get federal subsidies, equal to 66.6 percent of the county’s participants in the exchange. Last year, federal payments for Walker residents were just over $2.3 million.

Catoosa County has 2,115 enrollees this year with 1,371 of them, equal to 64.8 percent, receiving subsidies. Total payments in 2016 topped $2.2 million.

While the rates have been set in Georgia, insurers have a loophole that allows them to get out of the contracts for

2018, given the change in federal payments. So, some could decide to bail. That could leave areas in the country with fewer — or no — insurers.

Bipartisan negotiations have been renewed between Sens. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., and Patty Murray, DWash., to create legislation that would continue the cost-sharing subsidies and give states more flexibility to develop and sell less generous health care plans than those currently offered on the exchanges. Trump’s move to end the cost-sharing subsidies may bolster those discussions.

In a statement, Murray called Trump’s action to withdraw cost-sharing subsidies “reckless” but said she continues “to be optimistic about our negotiations and believe we can reach a deal quickly — and I urge Republican leaders in Congress to do the right thing for families this time by supporting our work.”

A poll released Friday by the Kaiser Family Foundation shows that 71 percent of the public said they preferred that the Trump administration try to make the law work rather than to hasten replacement by encouraging its failure.

The poll was conducted before Trump made his announcement about the subsidies.