SHOWDOWN LOOMS ON COSTS OF OBAMACARE
Trump team on Monday gets best chance to prevent hefty increases
A Monday court hearing offers the Trump administration its best opportunity to prevent significant increases in health care costs for about 7 million lower- income Americans who buy their plans on the Affordable Care Act exchanges.
The administration’s next move could prevent these insurance marketplaces from imploding as insurers are deciding which states, if any, to sell insurance in and at what price.
The hearing is part of a lawsuit filed by House Republicans who claim Congress hadn’t authorized payment of the subsidies to insurers to help consumers defray their out- of- pocket insurance costs. If they don’t know the subsidies are going to be paid next year, insurers will price plans up to
20% higher to cover their costs, the Kaiser Family Foundation estimated.
A lower court ruled that the subsidies were not authorized, and the Obama administration filed an appeal. It’s unclear whether the Trump administration will ask for the case to be delayed until August ( after insurers have to file their proposed 2018 premiums), allow the case to proceed or withdraw the Obama administration’s appeal. None of these outcomes would provide relief to insurers.
“The only outcome that is acceptable” is for the Trump administration to announce they are committed to paying the subsidies through 2018, said Andy Slavitt, former acting administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. That is the certainty insurers need to confidently continue selling on the ACA exchanges, he said.
“If they do that, health plans will rush back,” says Slavitt, now with the Bipartisan Policy Center and a USA TODAY editorial page columnist. “If they kick the can down the road, you’re basically sowing more uncertainty.”
President Trump has said he might withhold the payments to pressure Senate Democrats to support the Housepassed Obamacare replacement bill.
As Democrats and Republicans spar over who deserves blame for problems in the Affordable Care Actmarkets, a bipartisan cross- section of insurance regulators and health industry officials is pressuring the Trump administration to help solve them before the insurance exchanges implode.
The National Association of Insurance Commissioners asked Senate leadersWednesday to commit to funding the subsidies through 2018. Last month, a coalition that included the U. S. Chamber of Commerce and the left- leaning American Academy of Family Physicians sent a similar letter to WhiteHouse officials.
The law’s backers say the Trump administration has weakened it with actions — including Trump’s statements on the subsidies — that have led to higher premiums and insurers’ withdrawals in several states. Critics say the law was doomed before Trump took office.