As you can imagine, this has sent Obamacare supporters (who mostly do not use Ocare themselves) into a tizzy. Moonbat Level 10. Given them the vapors
(Politico) President Donald Trump plans to cut off subsidy payments to insurers selling Obamacare coverage in his most aggressive move yet to undermine the health care law, according to two sources close to the discussions.
The subsidies, which are worth an estimated $7 billion this year and are paid out in monthly installments, may stop almost immediately since Congress hasn’t appropriated funding for the program.
The decision, which leaked out only hours after Trump signed an executive order calling for new regulations to encourage cheap, loosely regulated health plans – delivered a double whammy to Obamacare after months of failed GOP efforts to repeal the law. With open enrollment for the 2018 plan year set to launch in two weeks, the moves seem aimed at dismantling the law through executive actions.
Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders confirmed the decision in a statement emailed to reporters at 10:47 p.m. Thursday.
“Based on guidance from the Department of Justice, the Department of Health and Human Services has concluded that there is no appropriation for cost-sharing reduction payments to insurance companies under Obamacare,†she said. “In light of this analysis, the Government cannot lawfully make the cost-sharing reduction payments. …The bailout of insurance companies through these unlawful payments is yet another example of how the previous administration abused taxpayer dollars and skirted the law to prop up a broken system.â€
Congress has never appropriated the money for the cost-sharing subsidies (under Section 1402), otherwise known as insurance company bailouts due to the implementation of a law that doesn’t Understand How Insurance Works, hence, any payments are illegal. Furthermore, a judge agreed that the payments were unConstitutional.
Scrapping the subsidy payments is likely to jolt already fragile Obamacare markets — although the impact may be less severe than it would have been a few months back.
If the Ocare markets are so fragile, that should tell us that this was a terrible law, one which set up a bad system, should it not?
There’s even a suggestion that insurers will sue Trump over this. That’ll be tossed quickly, because there is no statutory funding authorized by Congressional budgets to pay these out.
As Dr. Marc Siegel just said on TV as I write this, insurers stay in Ocare when it benefits them, and leave when they don’t. But consumers are trapped by this system.
Crossed at Right Wing News.
Congress passed a law. The next Congress couldn’t repeal said law. So tRump “dismantles” the program with executive orders. Over the next year millions of Americans will lose their healthcare coverage. Hypocrites.
Not that you’d admit it, but do any of the Cesspoolians get healthcare through the ACA?
On the bright side, Big Orange has so enraged and outraged the Secret Service that the next time he orders an agent to get him a Diet Coke or fetch his shorty robe, he’s likely to get bitch slapped and pistol whipped.
Jeff,
As I remember, Obama made a number of illegal changes to this bill. Trump is just trying to get people health care, Obama care only gives them a piece of paper that is labeled insurance, turns out that I can’t get my patients treated with that piece of paper. But that is not a concern to you.
tRump has a long and documented history of being a deadbeat, a swindler and a thief, so it’s no surprise that he now stiffs the insurance companies. When has he ever paid a contractor full price (or any price)?
Jeff,
Then you should love him as you have milked the system by taking NIH grants for your education and getting the NIH to give you money for you corporation. You do realize that you lie constantly, why?
William Teach: Congress has never appropriated the money for the cost-sharing subsidies (under Section 1402), otherwise known as insurance company bailouts due to the implementation of a law that doesn’t Understand How Insurance Works, hence, any payments are illegal. Furthermore, a judge agreed that the payments were unConstitutional.
Actually, the judge ruled that the payments could continue under appeal.
It’s clear Congress meant that the money should be appropriated, but apparently it wasn’t explicit enough for the judge who heard the case. In the past, when such legislation had been passed, such as Medicare Part D, the Congress would work to fix whatever flaws were discovered in the law. In this case, it’s clear that the Trump Administration, lacking the votes to pass their own insurance bill, is willing to cause an insurance meltdown leaving millions without affordable health insurance, rather than try to fix existing law.
Ergo, it wasn’t “clear”.
Well, they’re not working to fix it now.
Because Section 1402 was written in a manner as to reduce the cost per the CBO score. It didn’t say “Congress must fund.” And never got funded. Language matters, especially when it comes to legislation. Or contracts. Or promises. Etc.
Blame Democrats for f*cking this up.
William Teach: Because Section 1402 was written in a manner as to reduce the cost per the CBO score.
The cost of subsidies were included in the CBO analysis. In other words, they and everyone else at the time believed they were to be funded by the legislation.
Z,
That is incorrect.
david7134: That is incorrect.
CBO’s Analysis of the Major Health Care Legislation Enacted in March 2010
More circular reasoning by the Zzzz.
Y’all must be getting dizzy with all the spinning.
Tdrowningpuppies: More circular reasoning by the Zzzz.
Evidence presented in support of a claim is not “circular reasoning”.
Z,
Don’t lie. It is not “affordable insurance”. It is draining the budgets of Americans for nothing. I work with the crap that is Obamacare and what this aberration has done to regular insurance at all levels and can assure you that it pays very little and keeps patients from getting diagnostic test and treatments.
Z,
Also, as to Republicans not passing a bill to get rid of this junk, that is being taken care of as we primary many of them.
Y’all really like use to that term “clear” when it’s anything but.
Well, y’all implied the law was flawed and that the existing Congress is unwilling to fix it.
Sooooo….y’all assume the President will cause an insurance meltdown!!!!
Enough with the circular reasoning, kidz.
It would seem that the dems would be willing to work with the other party to fix the bill or come up with alternatives. Of course the object of the original law was for everything to fall apart so they could have their precious single payer system.
Tdrowningpuppies: y’all implied the law was flawed and that the existing Congress is unwilling to fix it.
The law was flawed. It’s a complex undertaking, and it is reasonable to suppose that some adjustments to the program might have to made, just as were made to Social Security, Medicare Part A, Medicare Part D, Veteran’s Benefits, and other such programs.
Tdrowningpuppies: Sooooo….y’all assume the President will cause an insurance meltdown!!!!
Republicans have taken a number of actions which threaten to destabilize the insurance markets.
The objective of the original program was to give Americans access to affordable health insurance, including Americans with pre-existing conditions. A single payer system would be the cheapest and most efficient system for doing that but conservatives (including some conservaDems) would not allow it.
Jeff,
Americans had good, efficient, affordable health care, now they dont. The purpose of Obamacre was to control Americans via their health system. Single payer sucks and always will.
david7134: Americans had good, efficient, affordable health care, now they dont.
Actually, Americans pay a lot more than other developed countries for comparable healthcare, while also leaving millions of citizens without access to regular medical care.