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 Insurance,
medical groups urge Trump to keep funding Obamacare
subsidies
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[April 13, 2017]
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Major medical groups
kept up the pressure on U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday to
maintain funding Obamacare subsidies that are paid directly to insurers,
warning that not doing so would destabilize the individual insurance
markets that millions of people use to buy health insurance.
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 America's Health Insurance Plans, the American Medical Association,
Blue Cross Blue Shield Association and the American Academy of
Family Physicians were among eight organizations that penned a
letter to Trump. They urged him to "remove uncertainty about
continued funding for cost sharing reductions," the billions of
dollars that are paid to insurers to help cover out-of-pocket
medical expenses for low-income Americans.
On Tuesday, the Trump administration said it had not yet made a
decision on whether it would continue funding the subsidies. "The
administration is currently deciding its position on this matter,"
said Alleigh Marré, a national spokeswoman for the Department of
Health and Human Services.
"No decisions have been made about how the administration will
proceed," she said.
House of Representatives Republicans sued the Obama administration
for funding the subsidies, which they argue have to be appropriated
by Congress. A federal judge in May 2016 ruled in favor of the
Republicans, prompting an appeal by the Obama administration. The
case is pending in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of
Columbia Circuit.
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Without the subsidies, the letter on Wednesday said, more insurers
could leave the Obamacare exchanges, premiums for 2018 and beyond
would rise, and providers would have additional uncompensated care
costs, because they would not receive payments that help cover the
costs of low-income patients.
Insurers have to submit their rates for 2018 plans over the next
several weeks and are grappling with whether they will receive the
subsidies, which amount to about $7 billion a year.
(Reporting By Yasmeen Abutaleb; Editing by Steve Orlofsky)
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