Uncertainty grows as Trump delays healthcare decision

WASHINGTON, May 23, (AP): Uncertainty over the future of healthcare is growing deeper for millions of Americans who buy their own policies.

While insurers released a blueprint Monday for stabilizing wobbly markets, the Trump administration is leaving in limbo billions of dollars in federal subsidy payments.

The administration and House Republicans have asked a federal appeals court for a 90-day extension in a case that involves federal payments to reduce deductibles and copayments for people with modest incomes who buy their own policies.

The fate of $7 billion in “costsharing subsidies” remains under a cloud as insurers finalize their premium requests for next year. Experts say premiums could jump about 20 percent without the funding.

In requesting the extension, lawyers for the Trump administration and the House said the parties are continuing to work on measures, “including potential legislative action,” to resolve the issue. Requests for extensions are usually granted routinely.

But Democrats are accusing the Trump administration of a cynical ploy.

Hours before the filing, a major insurer group released a framework for market stability that relies in part on a continuation of subsidies.

The BlueCross BlueShield Association represents plans that are the backbone of insurance markets under the Affordable Care Act, or ACA, and would also be the mainstay with a Republican approach.

As the GOP-led Congress works on rolling back major parts of the Obama law, the BlueCross BlueShield plan called for: