Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
State AGs Ask For Emergency Court Order To Keep Trump From Cutting Off Insurer Subsidies
The Associated Press: States Ask US Court To Keep Up Health Subsidies Cut By Trump
Top government lawyers representing 19 U.S. states on Wednesday asked a federal judge in California to force the administration of President Donald Trump to make health care subsidy payments that Trump abruptly cut off last week. The monthly payments would normally be scheduled to go out Friday. The states, led by California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, asked a judge in San Francisco for an emergency court order by 4 p.m. Thursday requiring they be paid on time. (Cooper, 10/18)
Los Angeles Times: California And Other States Seek Emergency Order To Stop Trump Administration From Cutting Off Healthcare Subsidies
California Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra asked a federal court Wednesday to issue an emergency temporary restraining order to block the Trump administration from cutting off cost-sharing subsidies that help reduce the price of healthcare for millions of Americans. A week after California and 17 other states filed a lawsuit challenging the decision on its merits, the same attorneys general requested a restraining order to avoid immediate harm to millions of people who get subsidized healthcare through the Affordable Care Act, Becerra said. (McGreevy, 10/18)
Bloomberg: Democratic Officials Seek Fast Rescue For Obamacare Payments
[New York Attorney General Eric] Schneiderman, Becerra and the other attorneys general contend the ACA requires those payments be made, even though a U.S. judge in Washington disagreed in a 2016 decision that is currently under appeal. Immediate elimination of the payments would inflict multimillion-dollar losses on carriers and force them to raise premiums, forcing people to go without coverage, according to the AGs. The latest round of payments are to be made this week. (Harris, 10/18)
The Hill: States File Emergency Motion To Force Continuation Of ObamaCare Payments
“Donald Trump doesn’t get to pick and choose which laws to follow,” California Attorney General Xavier Becerra (D) said in a statement. “For nearly a year, Trump has submitted those payments. So the question now has to be: is Donald Trump correct today or was he breaking the law?” (Weixel, 10/18)
Meanwhile —
The Hill: Bipartisan Group Of Governors Calls On Congress To Stabilize ObamaCare Markets
A bipartisan group of 10 governors is calling on Congress to vote on a deal to stabilize ObamaCare’s insurance markets. “We urge Congress to quickly pass legislation to stabilize our private health insurance markets and make quality health insurance more available and affordable,” the governors wrote Wednesday in a letter to House and Senate leaders from both parties. (Roubein, 10/18)
