Trump Administration Announces Suspension In Payments To Healthcare Insurers

Donald Trump

The Trump administration takes another swipe at the Affordable Care Act by suspending payments to insurers required under the healthcare law.

From The Washington Post:

In a rare Saturday afternoon announcement, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said it will stop collecting and paying out money under the ACA’s “risk adjustment” program, drawing swift protest from the health insurance industry.

Risk adjustment is one of three methods built into the 2010 health-care law to help insulate insurance companies from the ACA requirement that they accept all customers for the first time — healthy and sick — without charging more to those who need substantial care.

In its announcement, CMS said that it is not going to make $10.4 billion in payments that are due to insurers in the fall for expenses incurred by insurers last year.

This is the latest step the Trump administration has taken in its attempts to dismantle the healthcare law via executive powers.

In 2017, the sign-up period for Americans to buy ACA health plans was cut in half by healthcare officials.

Also, the advertising campaign for the signup period was cut by 90 percent.

Last October, the president ended cost-sharing reduction payments to insurers, which helps balance the law’s requirement to provide discounts on deductibles and other out-of-pocket costs to low-income customers.