Appeals Court: Trump Violated Law By Stopping ACA Subsidies For Low-Income Patients
The ACA established cost-sharing subsidies for individuals whose incomes were below 250% of the federal poverty level. Also, Pennsylvania is one of six states shifting in the next several years from the federal insurance exchange to run their own online marketplaces.
Modern Healthcare:
Insurers Should Get Unpaid ACA Subsidies, Appeals Court Rules
A federal appeals court ruled on Friday that the Trump administration violated the law when it abruptly stopped paying for subsidies intended to reduce healthcare costs for low-income individuals who buy coverage on the Affordable Care Act exchanges. In a separate decision also issued Friday, the same court said health insurers should not collect a windfall from the decision. While the U.S. Federal Circuit Court of Appeals said insurers are entitled to the full amount of unpaid cost-sharing reduction subsidies for 2017, the amount owed for 2018 should be reduced because insurers were able to raise premiums to make up for the loss of subsidies. (Livingston, 8/14)
Kaiser Health News:
‘Pennie’-Pinching States Take Over Obamacare Exchanges From Feds
Pennsylvania is rolling out its new “Pennie” this fall: a state-run insurance exchange that officials say will save residents collectively millions of dollars on next year’s health plan premiums. Since the Affordable Care Act’s marketplaces opened for enrollment in fall 2013, Pennsylvania, like most states, has used the federal www.healthcare.gov website for people buying coverage on their own. (Galewitz, 8/17)
