With federal payments to health insurers in limbo, Louisianans brace for premium hikes and Congress mulls action
The bid, led by Sens.
Failure by
"Our only choices are to raise rates or walk away from the individual marketplace," Maginnis said. "Many insurers have walked away from our state. We've committed to the individual market for 2018, but unfortunately, we are forced to pass these unfunded costs of CSRs on to individual customers as rate increases to make up the difference."
That's because, even if the federal government doesn't pay the billions in payments to insurers, the Affordable Care Act still mandates they offer the plans with reduced deductibles and lower out-of-pocket costs to lower-income people. With the government no longer covering the tab, insurers would likely pass on the cost to customers through higher premiums.
Louisianans buying health insurance on the individual market who earn too much to qualify for subsidies would likely end up getting hit hardest by rising premiums triggered by Trump's end to cost-sharing payments, said
Taxpayers may get left paying more as well. Many of those buying health insurance on the individual marketplaces receive federal subsidies, which rise with the cost of insurance and cap the amount of money individuals pay in premiums.
The nonpartisan
Among those signing onto the Alexander-Murray bill? Louisiana's Sen.
"Without a stabilization package, the market will collapse and advance premium tax credits will spike. This would increase the costs to the American taxpayer," said Cassidy and Graham, who signed on as co-sponsors to the new bill. "However, we recognize this short-term stabilization will not pass unless concerns of the House are addressed."
The governors, who also included Republicans
"I think it's fantastic that
Yet passing the Alexander-Murray bill through
A number of leading
"We need to end the Obamacare death spiral once and for all, and the Alexander/Murray bill continues the insurance industry bailouts while doing nothing to reform the fatal flaws of Obamacare that are causing premiums to skyrocket," said
Maginnis, with
"Insurers do not profit from these funds; this money simply passes through and goes directly to reduce what eligible members pay for their health-care services," he said.
"
In
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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