Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Judge In Insurer Subsidies Case Points To Steps States Have Taken In Anticipation Of Payment Cut Off
A U.S. judge on Monday appeared skeptical toward a request from several states that want him to order the administration of Republican President Donald Trump to continue payments to health insurers under Obamacare. At a hearing in San Francisco federal court, U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria said he aimed to issue a ruling on Tuesday. (Levine, 10/23)
Earlier this month, Trump announced that the administration would stop payments that compensate insurers for discounts given to low-income consumers to help cover their out-of-pocket expenses under policies sold on the Affordable Care Act鈥檚 insurance marketplaces. These subsidies are different from the tax credits many consumers get, depending on their income, to pay Obamacare premiums. (Nguyen, 10/24)
California Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra, joined by Democratic counterparts from 17 other states and the District of Columbia asked the court to put Trump鈥檚 order on hold. They argue Trump鈥檚 action would spark 鈥渃haos and uncertainty,鈥 raise the cost of health insurance and the number of uninsured Americans and saddle states and local governments with higher expenses. But U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria, an Obama appointee, expressed considerable skepticism during a hearing Monday. (Dolan and Lauter, 10/23)
Chhabria peppered an attorney for California with questions about why he should force the administration to resume payments when the states had devised a workaround that would benefit many consumers. "The state of California is standing on the courthouse steps denouncing the president for taking away people's health care, when the truth is that California has come up with a solution to that issue that is going to result in better health care for a lot of people," Chhabria said. (Thanawala, 10/24)
The judge highlighted the decision by Covered California, the state's Obamacare exchange, to load the impact of the lost CSRs on to the silver-tier plans, which allows for consumers' tax-credit subsidies to rise accordingly. He noted that the contingency plan, which most states have adopted in some form, would cost the taxpayers more money and protect consumers, who may even benefit in 2018. Brown contended that not all states have taken such steps and he feared insurers could flee some markets. (Colliver, 10/23)
