10/13/2017
In yet another attempt to torpedo Obamacare, President Trump last night signed an executive order stopping payments to health insurers that help millions of middle-income Americans afford coverage.
The move comes two and a half weeks before open enrollment for 2018. the Department of Health and Human Services said it will immediately end these monthly payments, a move that could push premiums as much as 15 to 20 percent higher and prompt more insurers to withdraw from the marketplaces altogether.
With no premium payment subsidies to insurance companies, the possibility of millions of people not being able to afford insurance becomes real. Insurers will either need to raise premiums substantially, or withdraw insurance plans from the marketplace. The elimination of subsidies tend to hurt the middle class the most. Lower income citizens often qualify for medicaid (another Trump target), and upper income citizens tend not to qualify for the subsidies.
Trump’s move was immediately criticized by Democrats who were left wondering how this would help millions of Americans in need of affordable insurance.
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