In addition to cutting subsidies, Trump signed an executive order last week that could eventually make it easier for Americans to buy cheaper, bare-bones health insurance plans than required by Obamacare.
On Tuesday, two senators struck a bipartisan deal to stabilize the Obamacare market, including reinstating the subsidies for two years. Trump initially said he might back the deal, but reversed course on Wednesday, as senior Republican lawmakers spoke out against a plan that might allow Obamacare to survive.
Meanwhile, Democratic attorneys-general have asked a California judge to intervene and direct the administration to continue the payments until their legal challenge to Trump’s cutoff is settled in court.
The moves created new uncertainty over the subsidies, just two weeks before Americans begin to enroll in Obamacare plans for 2018.
MIDDLE-CLASS SQUEEZE
If the subsidies are not restored, some middle-income families and small business owners who buy insurance on the Obamacare markets could see their premiums rise the most, said Larry Levitt, health economist at the Kaiser Family Foundation.
These include cash-strapped self-employed workers who rely on Obamacare to buy insurance but make too much money to qualify for government assistance. The very poor receive other forms of government subsidies to buy coverage that shields them from premium increases.
Karyn Feit, a self-employed mental health therapist in Philadelphia, said a hike in premiums will strain her already-stretched finances and force her to cut back on trips to Florida to care for sick parents.
Feit, 47, and her husband together earn $100,000 annually, placing her among America’s vast tier of middle-income families. They bought Obamacare individual coverage four years ago, when Feit left her job at a hospital to start her own business, leaving her without employer coverage. She has no children.
Her current monthly premiums are $391. She expects this to rise by $80 a month after Trump’s decision.
“The first thing I would have to cut is travel, and caring for other people,” said Feit, a Democrat.
Trump voter Stephen Lewis, 62, lost his job as a veterinarian in Wisconsin and bought a health insurance plan under Obamacare. Lewis still supports Trump although he said he fears that his premiums, now $309 a month, could rise further with the subsidy cut, making it harder for him to meet other expenses, including $611 in monthly mortgage payments.
“It is a concern obviously,” Lewis said.