President Trump is Cancelling the Illegal ObamaCare CSR Insurance Company Payments

Thursday, October 12, 2017

The illegal taxpayer-funded monthly subsidy (CSR) payments to health insurance companies are being terminated..

The White House announced late this evening that it "cannot lawfully make the cost-sharing reduction payments" to insurance companies under the Affordable Care Act, a decision Democrats condemned as a "spiteful act" that would hike premiums.

President Donald Trump has said he was considering cutting off the cost-sharing reduction payments, which reimburse insurers for lowering out-of-pocket costs for customers, in order to increase pressure on lawmakers to repeal the ACA, also known as Obamacare.

"Based on guidance from the Department of Justice, the Department of Health and Human Services has concluded that there is no appropriation for cost-sharing reduction payments to insurance companies under Obamacare," the White House said in a statement.

"In light of this analysis, the Government cannot lawfully make the cost-sharing reduction payments,” the White House statement said.

Full Article at: www.nbcnews.com...

In May 2016, Federal Judge Rosemary Collyer, ruled that the ACA money paid to health insurance companies, to reduce the health insurance deductible of Americans who earn under 251% of FPL ($29,700 @ year) was not appropriated by Congress, and should be terminated. (The deductible is reduced to $500 / $250 / $0, depending on how low your income is.) SOURCE: healthaffairs.org...

This money is sent to participating ACA health insurance companies every month, and are called "Cost Sharing Reduction" subsidies. This amounts to about $7 Billion dollars a year of (non-appropriated) taxpayer dollars.

Naturally, President Obama kept the monthly payments to health insurance companies flowing. The Federal Judge's ruling was ignored.

President Trump has continued to authorize the payments as well.. but only because he thought the Republican Congress was a body of integrity, and would do what they promised for 7 years.

There are relatively few health insurance companies left in America, who have agreed to take ObamaCare customers for 2018. Some of them factored into their 2018 premiums, the loss of these CSR payments from the government, and some did not.

It's anyone's guess what will happen now. Particularly so, after the Presidential Executive Order this morning, which enables healthier people who don't qualify for Tax-Credit/Subsidy assistance, to buy less expensive Short-Term (1 Year) health plans, and soon to be formed, Association affiliated health plans.

My guess is that if Congress doesn't act FAST to shovel a few billion dollars to health insurance companies, the ObamaCare private health insurance market is done.. you can stick a fork in it.

-CareWeMust

originally posted by: carewemust
Thursday, October 12, 2017

The illegal taxpayer-funded monthly subsidy (CSR) payments to health insurance companies are being terminated..

The White House announced late this evening that it "cannot lawfully make the cost-sharing reduction payments" to insurance companies under the Affordable Care Act, a decision Democrats condemned as a "spiteful act" that would hike premiums.

President Donald Trump has said he was considering cutting off the cost-sharing reduction payments, which reimburse insurers for lowering out-of-pocket costs for customers, in order to increase pressure on lawmakers to repeal the ACA, also known as Obamacare.

"Based on guidance from the Department of Justice, the Department of Health and Human Services has concluded that there is no appropriation for cost-sharing reduction payments to insurance companies under Obamacare," the White House said in a statement.

"In light of this analysis, the Government cannot lawfully make the cost-sharing reduction payments,” the White House statement said.

Full Article at: www.nbcnews.com...

-CareWeMust

Hmmm - how can it be illegal when it was included in the LAW that was passed and upheld repeatedly by the courts? He's making s**t up as he goes.

What a tool Trump is.

Well, I suppose the good news is that Trump is going to force premiums so high that we'll end up with Single Payer as soon as he's removed from office.

originally posted by: FyreByrd

originally posted by: carewemust
Thursday, October 12, 2017

The illegal taxpayer-funded monthly subsidy (CSR) payments to health insurance companies are being terminated..

The White House announced late this evening that it "cannot lawfully make the cost-sharing reduction payments" to insurance companies under the Affordable Care Act, a decision Democrats condemned as a "spiteful act" that would hike premiums.

President Donald Trump has said he was considering cutting off the cost-sharing reduction payments, which reimburse insurers for lowering out-of-pocket costs for customers, in order to increase pressure on lawmakers to repeal the ACA, also known as Obamacare.

"Based on guidance from the Department of Justice, the Department of Health and Human Services has concluded that there is no appropriation for cost-sharing reduction payments to insurance companies under Obamacare," the White House said in a statement.

"In light of this analysis, the Government cannot lawfully make the cost-sharing reduction payments,” the White House statement said.

Full Article at: www.nbcnews.com...

-CareWeMust

Hmmm - how can it be illegal when it was included in the LAW that was passed and upheld repeatedly by the courts? He's making s**t up as he goes.

You do mean. . . tax upheld by the Supreme Court, right?

The ACA, if I remember correctly, was only upheld by the Supreme Court as a tax.

The Trump administration has removed the tax penalty by allowing filers to skip the insurance portion of their tax filings.

The Trump administration is apparently now allowing people to purchase their own non ACA compliant healthcare from insurers.

...and now he's de-funded it.

Ding-dong, the witch is dead.

Anything else we hear from the ACA is just it's death throes.

Obamacare was the worst piece of legislation that has ever been passed. 70% of Americans, at the time of its passage were vehemently opposed. It has been a disaster from day one.... and, it was designed to fail.

Obamacare is unconstitutional. Chief Justice John Roberts was the swing vote; there are rumors that he was blackmailed by the Obama administration for his decision.

I hope Trump figures out a way to ditch the whole thing...

Trump appears to be continuing a dangerous precedent that started in earnest under Obama. While I do support him trying to get rid of the failed ACA; I object to the use of EOs to legislate from the Executive Branch of Government.

I had a problem with the improper use of EO's under Obama and I still don't like to see the President taking unilateral action and bypassing Congress.

originally posted by: FyreByrd

originally posted by: carewemust
Thursday, October 12, 2017

The illegal taxpayer-funded monthly subsidy (CSR) payments to health insurance companies are being terminated..

The White House announced late this evening that it "cannot lawfully make the cost-sharing reduction payments" to insurance companies under the Affordable Care Act, a decision Democrats condemned as a "spiteful act" that would hike premiums.

President Donald Trump has said he was considering cutting off the cost-sharing reduction payments, which reimburse insurers for lowering out-of-pocket costs for customers, in order to increase pressure on lawmakers to repeal the ACA, also known as Obamacare.

"Based on guidance from the Department of Justice, the Department of Health and Human Services has concluded that there is no appropriation for cost-sharing reduction payments to insurance companies under Obamacare," the White House said in a statement.

"In light of this analysis, the Government cannot lawfully make the cost-sharing reduction payments,” the White House statement said.

Full Article at: www.nbcnews.com...

-CareWeMust

Hmmm - how can it be illegal when it was included in the LAW that was passed and upheld repeatedly by the courts? He's making s**t up as he goes.

I realize that some members aren't aware of the back-ground to all this CSR stuff, so I edited the original post to show why these CSR payments to health insurance companies are illegal.

originally posted by: Dudemo5
What a tool Trump is.

Well, I suppose the good news is that Trump is going to force premiums so high that we'll end up with Single Payer as soon as he's removed from office.

Actually, Trump is doing what he can to partially fulfill his campaign promise to repeal ObamaCare. You'd really go ballistic if ObamaCare was actually repealed!

Are you one of the 9 million people who benefit from the ObamaCare private health insurance market?

From the Roberts Court - Justice Roberts wrote the majority opinion!!!

This reading means that federal subsidies are available to all eligible Americans who comply with the Act’s individual mandate by buying health insurance through an exchange.

The contrary reading would have meant that those who did so in states that had not set up their own exchanges would lose their coverage, and very soon be forced to drop it. “So without the tax credits, the coverage requirement would apply to fewer individuals. And it would be a lot fewer.” Roberts cited figures suggesting that up to 87 percent of exchange customers would lose subsidies.


He made clear as he did so that this reading was the correct one as a matter of law—not an administrative interpretation that could be changed by a hypothetical Republican administration.

In other words, for better or worse, the ACA is now part of federal law, to be uprooted, if at all, only by a full congressional vote to repeal and, possibly, to override a presidential veto.

Roberts also refused to duck responsibility for making an interpretive choice, rather than simply following the words of the statute. Both parties before the Court—the right-wing challengers represented by the conservative attorney Michael Carvin, and the federal government, represented by Solicitor General Donald Verrilli, had argued that the statute was clear. But it wasn’t, and Roberts said so. The phrase “established by a State,” he wrote, could mean either “such exchange,” state or federal, or “only a state exchange.”

www.theatlantic.com...

Just more useless - tax wasting grandstanding by this administration.

originally posted by: carewemust

Actually, Trump is doing what he can to partially fulfill his campaign promise to repeal ObamaCare. You'd really go ballistic if ObamaCare was actually repealed!

Sure he is. Seems to me he doesn't do much of anything except for self-aggrandizing and wasting everyone's time.

Single Payer will be an improvement though, and we'll be able to thank Trump for it indirectly. Keep your head up.

a reply to: abe froman

He's only de-funding the part of ObamaCare that was ruled illegally funded by a Federal Court in May 2016.

Obamacare is a 12,000 page nightmare of rules that most people have never heard of, or confuse one aspect of it with another. There are 2 "subsidies", but even ObamaCare customers don't know this...which is completely understandable.

a reply to: FyreByrd

As I mentioned in the post above this one, you're confusing the subsidies.

The Supreme Court is talking about APTC subsidies. Those reduce the premiums that people pay. They are legal.

Trump is cancelling the Cost Sharing Reduction subsidies. Those reduce the health insurance deductible for lower income Americans. Those are ILLEGAL. (See the edit I added to the O.P... if you really care.)

a reply to: Metallicus

Each President has issued hundreds of Executive Orders. I understand your sentiment, but it doesn't appear to be something that will stop anytime soon.

originally posted by: Dudemo5
What a tool Trump is.

Well, I suppose the good news is that Trump is going to force premiums so high that we'll end up with Single Payer as soon as he's removed from office.

And that would be a good thing, Obama care was good but not perfect, he should have gone single payer to begin with, but the ACA will make universal health care easier to achieve.

a reply to: carewemust

If you can now

1. Not pay any tax penalty.

and

2. Buy your own (non-ACA-compliant) insurance from whomever you like without government interference.

The rest doesn't even matter.

The Dragon is slain.

originally posted by: abe froman
a reply to: carewemust

If you can now

1. Not pay any tax penalty.

and

2. Buy your own (non-ACA-compliant) insurance from whomever you like without government interference.

The rest doesn't even matter.

The Dragon is slain.

1a.) 7 out of every 10 people who don't have government-approved health insurance are exempt from paying the penalty-tax, because the premium for ObamaCare in their county is more than 8.16% of their monthly income.

1b.) And, President Trump signed an Executive Order in February that allows taxpayers to not complete line 61 on their IRS form 1040. (Line 61 asks if you have health insurance.) The IRS says that you can leave that blank.

2.) Thanks to the Thursday morning Executive Order: In a couple of weeks, you'll be able to buy a non ACA health plan that lasts for 1 year. In a few months, you'll be able to buy a health insurance plan of your choice, via an "Association".

a reply to: Metallicus

This is called politics and unfortunately there will be innocents caught in the middle of their games who will suffer.

Obama and the chicken-s* * * congress are being called out on their loser policies. Trump has warned them and now he is releasing all the power he can muster to rid our country of this loser policy-wonder how Obama thinks he'll look in the history books now?

I will say this-Trump is backing up his chutzpah with some real action. Shake 'em up. Let em squirm. He knows this is only way to get McCain and others out of their lazy sleazy complacent modes and for God's sake pay attention and do something besides count all their ill-gotten money from being paid off by Big Parma et al.

Don't like Trump but like this. Action.

Where's the logical breakdown here? Is it me? Am I missing something?

The Department of Justice talked with the Department of Health and Human Services and they determined that it is illegal to provide the funding. So they stop breaking the law and somehow that gets spun into Trump did something bad?

This is the work of two departments of our government apparently realizing they're breaking the law and (for a nice change) actually stopping.

a reply to: Justso

Your post reminds me of a media piece I was reading about an hour ago.

Excerpt:

The GOP turncoats in Congress won’t repeal ObamaCare. But Donald Trump — who is admittedly a moron, an anti-speech thug, and otherwise a generally wretched and narcissistic waste of oxygen — is accomplishing some really good stuff on the health care front.

This a good opinion piece that's probably right up your alley!: www.redstate.com...