“The solution will be for about a year or two years,” Trump said at a news conference with Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras.
But Trump repeated is criticism that the subsidies amounted to a giveaway by the federal government that had enriched insurance companies.
If the subsidies vanish, low-income Americans who obtain insurance through Obamacare online marketplaces where insurers can sell policies would face higher insurance premiums and out-of-pocket medical costs. It would particularly hurt lower-middle-class families whose incomes are too high to qualify for certain government assistance.
‘Obviously a Good Step’
Trump said that after Congress completes work on his proposed tax overhaul, he hoped lawmakers would again take up legislation that failed in the Senate last month that would divvy up federal healthcare money as block grants to states.
Murray is the top Democrat on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, and Alexander is its chairman.
She said the two were able to find common ground on the steps aimed at stabilizing the insurance markets created under Obamacare and to “help protect families from premium spikes as a result of the sabotage we have seen from this administration.”
The subsidies to private insurers cost the government an estimated $7 billion this year and were forecast at $10 billion for 2018. Trump’s move to scuttle them had raised concerns about chaos in insurance markets. Democratic attorneys general from 18 states, as well as Washington, D.C., sued in federal court in California to try to block his move.
Shares of U.S. hospital operators, including Tenet Healthcare Corp. and HCA Healthcare Inc., moved higher after news of the deal. Tenet shares closed 5.3% higher, while HCA rose 2.2%. Shares of some U.S. health insurers also extended their gains on the day, with Anthem Inc finishing up 1.9% and Centene Corp gaining 3.2%.
Analyst Brian Tanquilut of global investment banking firm Jefferies, who focuses on hospital companies, said that if the deal is passed in Congress, it should stabilize the Obamacare exchanges and improve their viability.
“Hospitals will avoid a potential spike in bad debt and charity care next year,” Tanquilut said. “This is obviously a good step. It’s bipartisan and guaranteed for two years.”