Trump administration officials shook health insurers, and health care providers, late Thursday by announcing they will cut off Affordable Care Act cost-sharing reduction (CSR) subsidy program payments.
The $7 billion cost-sharing reduction subsidy program is helping 7 million ACA exchange plan users with income from 100% to 250% of the federal poverty level handle health plan deductibles, co-payments and coinsurance amounts for silver-level coverage. The money goes straight to the health insurers. The next payment to insurers was due next week.
Eric Hargan, the new acting secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and Seema Verma, the administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said in a memo that their legal advisors believe the government lacks a valid congressional appropriation to make program payments.
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Allison Bell
Allison Bell, a senior reporter at ThinkAdvisor and BenefitsPRO, previously was an associate editor at National Underwriter Life & Health. She has a bachelor's degree in economics from Washington University in St. Louis and a master's degree in journalism from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University. She can be reached through X at @Think_Allison.
