Trump wouldn't just let Obamacare die, he'd kill it himself.
The government must continue to fund Cost Sharing
Reduction payments to insurers.
If CSR payments stop,7
million people would either lose or drop coverage.
It's not every day that hospitals and
insurers agree, but there is one thing we, who are
not Republicans, agree on -- the government must
continue to help lower the cost of health care that millions of lower-income
Americans receive.
The Cost Sharing Reduction (CSR) payments, which
have been paid on a monthly basis to insurers for the past three years, are an
integral part of the Affordable Care Act (ACA - Obamacare).
The CSR program is caught in an unresolved legal
quagmire.
These payments have made it possible for patients
who earn up to 250% of the federal poverty level, or roughly $60,000 dollars for
a family of four, to see a doctor, receive treatment, get their needed medicine
and, in some cases, get the surgery needed to restore their health --
at a price they can afford. This helps reduce the
number of hospitalizations, readmissions and unnecessary visits to the emergency
room.
Nearly 7 million people, or almost 60% of those in the ACA
(Obamacare) marketplace, receive help that reduces
their deductibles, copayments and out-of-pocket costs as a result of the
CSR program. This amounts to at least $7 billion
per year in help.
However, a lawsuit by Republicans in the
House of Representatives that began during the Obama administration challenged
the constitutionality of the method by which the payments were made. This case
is unresolved, in legal limbo (17 States' Attorneys are fighting it) and is
threatening to end the payments.
If the Trump administration
decides to stop making the payments, health
insurance companies will be stuck with the bill; they still have the
responsibility of reducing the payments on behalf of their customers but absorb
the cost. If this happens, most experts believe, the
insurers will either drop out of the program or
raise premiums sharply to account for this new cost.
Regardless, the outcome would likely be 7 million either losing or dropping
coverage .
Hospitals will certainly be negatively impacted if the subsidies are eliminated.
If millions of Americans lose or drop their coverage, we will see a jump in bad
debt and EMERGENCY ROOM VISITS paid for by the Tax Payer -- that is care for
which we receive no insurance compensation.
Everyone else will face higher premiums, higher deductibles and higher
out-of-pocket costs to help cover those who no longer have coverage.
|