The two insurance companies that sell individual health insurance plans on federal exchanges in Arizona planned for the possibility that President Donald Trump would end payments that help cut costs for lower-income clients. Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina said stopping these payments will make it harder for insurers to participate in the exchanges in the future.
Democratic U.S. Rep. Ruben Gallego slammed the president, saying that instead of working to make health care more affordable, he is “yet again proving that the only people he cares about are himself and those who are as wealthy as he is”. Blue Cross still plans to cover all 100 North Carolina counties.
The subsidies Trump is cutting are meant to help offset the costs borne by insurance companies of covering lower income customers.
Those subsidies, which apply to “silver” plans, lower the amount those people have to pay in deductibles, copayments and coinsurance, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
He said Democrats would be up in arms if Trump acted on Mexican wall funding in the same way Obama had with these cost-sharing payments.
At Blue Cross and Blue Shield of MA, our highest priority is ensuring that quality health coverage is accessible and affordable for our members, employer customers, and the community. For perspective that’s a family of four with an income of more than $98,400 a year.
“We will continue to analyze information and guidance coming from Washington, D.C., on this developing issue”.
Brian Tajlili, director of actuarial and pricing services for the insurer, said August 1 that “the individual market in North Carolina has become less volatile”. “This is going to have real implications for people in need of health insurance”.
“We think this (14.1 percent) increase will allow our ACA plans to be financially viable, while being more affordable for our customers”. He sees the move as “a blow the market could ultimately absorb” as insurers have been exiting the marketplace, and an end to the payments has already been factored into insurers 2018 rate hikes.
But the news is worse for the 61,000 MI residents who purchase health insurance on their own and don’t qualify for subsidies under the Affordable Care Act. Open enrollment for 2018 begins November 1 and runs through December 15.
Blue Cross is offering 18 plans in 2018.
Since more than 80 percent of Americans who purchase individual health plans qualify for subsidies, the cost increases are largely absorbed by taxpayers – thus the $6 billion price-tag cited by Udow.
“There is still a great deal of uncertainty surrounding the law”, Tajlili said.
Attorneys general in at least a dozen states, including California, Connecticut, Kentucky, Massachusetts and NY, said Friday they planned to sue the Trump administration to keep the cost-sharing reduction money flowing.
