Prominent GOP Senate chairman wants Trump to pay Obamacare subsidies

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/politics-government/article156365249.html

June 15, 2017 3:03 PM
Prominent GOP Senate chairman wants Trump to pay Obamacare subsidies

By Tony Pugh

WASHINGTON

Sen. Lamar Alexander Thursday became the second prominent Republican in a week to recommend that the Trump administration reimburse Obamacare insurers for $9 billion the companies will pay this year to help low-income plan members pay for coverage.

The Affordable Care Act requires individual insurers to provide the financial assistance, known as cost-sharing subsidies, to help pay deductibles, coinsurance and other out-of-pocket costs for enrollees with incomes below 250 percent of the federal poverty level.

The Trump administration has, so far, refused to provide the money, thinking it will prompt congressional Democrats to negotiate with Republicans on legislation to repeal the Affordable Care Act.

But without the reimbursements, Obamacare insurers are having difficulty setting their 2018 premiums as federal and state rate-filing deadlines rapidly approach. Experts say marketplace premiums would spike up to 20 percent next year if the money is withheld. Other insurers would likely exit the individual market entirely.

On Thursday, during a subcommittee hearing of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, Alexander, who chairs the HELP committee, told Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price that the Trump administration should pay the subsidies this year.

“And we should probably go ahead and do it through 2019,” Alexander continued…“The payments will help to avoid the real possibility that millions of Americans will literally have zero options for insurance in the individual market in 2018.”

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