Saying he was acting to “provide millions of Americans with Obamacare relief,” President Donald Trump signed an executive order last week changing enforcement of portions of the Affordable Care Act.
Claiming Democrats “broke the American healthcare system” seven years ago with the adoption of the ACA, the Republican Trump said high premiums and low levels of options for insurers triggered his action. The executive order supports the formation of more “association plans” in which small businesses group together to offer insurance. Critics say those association plans will likely offer lower levels of coverage and exclude people with chronic health issues or with pre-existing conditions or make premiums for such people untenable. They called Trump’s action a move to undermine the ACA and cause its collapse. The order also ends subsidy payments put into the ACA to help individuals afford healthcare premiums.
Montana’s U.S. Senator Jon Tester, a Democrat, called the move to end cost-sharing reduction payments “sabotage.” “This decision will spike health insurance costs that are already way too high,” said Tester.
“This deliberate sabotage forces Montanans to spend even more of their money on health care, draining their already strained bank accounts. Washington needs to knock it off and start working together to lower the cost of healthcare.”
Governor Steve Bullock said 43 percent of the marketplace enrollees in Montana depend on the cost-sharing reduction payments. Over 25,000 Montanans receive an average of $1147 each year from the payments, saving Montanans $40 million overall on health care costs in 2016, he said.
“Abruptly ending Cost- Sharing Reduction payments is an irresponsible and unnecessary move that will negatively impact nearly half of all Montanans enrolled in the marketplace. The actions coming out of our nation’s capital in the last couple days are causing significant challenges for those of us on the ground actually dealing with the consequences,” said Governor Bullock.
“Congress must take action to fund the Cost-Sharing Reduction payments immediately and then start making a real effort to work with states to find real solutions to lower costs, stabilize the market, and positively impact coverage and care.”
Trump disputed such claims, saying the subsidies are a gift for insurance companies, making them rich. “With these actions, we are moving toward lower costs and more options in the healthcare market and taking crucial steps towards saving the American people from the nightmare of Obamacare,” said the president. “We will have great healthcare in our country,” he promised.
