NJPP REPORT RELEASE: Newest Trump Sabotage of Obamacare Could Make Health Insurance Unaffordable for Many New Jerseyans
REPORT RELEASE: Newest Trump Sabotage of Obamacare Could Make Health Insurance Unaffordable for Many New Jerseyans
For Immediate Release
Contact: Louis Di Paolo (NJPP): 201-417-5049 (cell) or dipaolo@njpp.org
TRENTON (July 17, 2018) – As New Jersey makes progress stabilizing the healthcare marketplace and keeping health care coverage affordable, the Trump administration continues to undermine key tenets of the Affordable Care Act. A new report by New Jersey Policy Perspective (NJPP) analyses recent efforts to sabotage the Affordable Care Act and the subsequent threat of higher premiums and more uninsured New Jerseyans.
The report, Newest Trump Sabotage of Obamacare Could Make Health Insurance Unaffordable for Many New Jerseyans, outlines the Trump administration’s suspension of risk adjustment payments, cuts to federal outreach funds, and support for a federal court case in Texas that would eliminate protections for consumers with pre-existing conditions. In New Jersey, premiums have already increased by about 20 percent in 2018 and enrollment in the individual market dropped by an unprecedented 40,000 residents. These newest actions, unless reversed, may finally unravel the Affordable Care Act.
Most Recent Attempts to Undermine the ACA:
- Suspension of risk Adjustment payments: The Trump administration indefinitely suspended $64 million in payments to insurers to defray the cost of covering consumers with high health costs. Without these payments, insurers may increase premiums to make up for the cost of insuring customers with pre-existing conditions.
- Cuts to federal outreach funds: The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) are slashing funds for navigators who help New Jerseyans with signing up for insurance and outreach. With a 70% cut in federal funds, New Jersey should receive approximately $200,000 for outreach in 2018, down from $1.9 million in 2016 and $720,000 in 2017.
- Urging a federal court to invalidate protections for pre-existing conditions: The Trump administration has argued in a federal court case filed in Texas that insurers should be allowed to charge consumers based on their pre-existing conditions. Should this case go to the Supreme Court, President Trump’s nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh further endangers the ACA’s future.
“It will soon be impossible for struggling New Jerseyans to afford quality, comprehensive insurance, especially for those with pre-existing conditions like cancer and diabetes,” said Raymond Castro, Director of Health Policy at New Jersey Policy Perspective. “Working families should not be punished with poor health care simply because they do not have the means to afford insurance. The actions of the Trump administration to undermine the Affordable Care Act threaten the health and welfare of all New Jerseyans, and it is incumbent upon officials to do everything they can to fight back and protect the progress we’ve made.”
Read the report here:
