National Health Law Program Condemns Trump Administration over Actions to Undermine the Affordable Care Act

WASHINGTON, April 13 -- The National Health Law Program issued the following news release:

President Trump has suggested that integral cost-sharing subsidies of the Affordable Care Act could be cut off, unless congressional Democrats agree to negotiate over repeal of the landmark health care law.

"President Trump says he does not want to hurt people, but not funding the Affordable Care Act's cost-sharing subsidies would in fact endanger health care coverage of millions of individuals from coast to coast," NHeLP Executive Director Elizabeth G. Taylor, said. "With the efforts to force a repeal bill through Congress failing, it appears that the administration is attempting to reach the same result by destabilizing the marketplace. That's not leadership; it's playing politics with people's health."

The cost-sharing subsidies reimburse insurers in the marketplace for the expense of providing health care services with low out-of-pocket costs to families surviving on limited incomes. If the Trump administration stops paying those subsidies, the Kaiser Family Foundation estimates that premiums would jump an average of 19 percent. The Kaiser study notes, "Among 12.2 million people who selected a 2017 ACA marketplace plan, about 58 percent, or 7.1 million, are receiving cost-sharing reductions."

NHeLP Managing Attorney of the DC Office Mara Youdelman added that pressure needs to remain on this administration and Congress to bolster, not destroy, the ACA.

"Poll after poll reveals the increasing popularity of the ACA," Youdeleman said. "There is no groundswell of support for repealing this law. There is, however, a desire for both parties to come together in bipartisan fashion to improve this law."

Please contact NHeLP Communications Director Jeremy Leaming at [email protected] or 202-552-5176 for further comment regarding the Trump administration's efforts to undermine the Affordable Care Act or the scope of Medicaid, which provides health care coverage to more than 70 million low-income individuals.