Nineteen attorneys general from across the country put forward an emergency motion on Wednesday to pressure the Trump administration into paying key ObamaCare subsidies. The motion was filed only a few days after President Donald Trump said these payments, known as cost sharing payments, would be stopped, and ensures that they continue to be made.
The motion for a temporary restraining order was filed earlier this week in a California court, said Attorney General Eric Schneiderman.
“These payments are vital to thousands of New Yorkers and millions of Americans who rely on them to afford their health care. We’re moving to block these dangerous cuts before they do any more harm,” Schneiderman said.
The president’s announcement caused great concern among both Republicans and Democrats, who believe that ending the subsidies, which primarily help low-income individuals, would shake the ObamaCare marketplace.
“This is no longer about a campaign promise or a punchline. The Trump administration is taking active steps to sabotage the Affordable Care Act,” Attorney General Xavier Becerra said, adding that this step violates the law and denies citizens “access to basic healthcare.”
Becerra continued by saying Trump cannot “pick and choose which laws to follow,” asking whether after a year of making these payments the president is correct in cutting them.
A lawsuit was announced by the same coalition last week aimed at a permanent injunction to ensure these payments continue to be made. The subsidies were required under the Affordable Care Act and were paid even though Congress did not appropriate the funds necessary for them.
President Trump said on Wednesday that supporting a bipartisan deal to stabilize insurance markets by subsidizing insurance companies would mean bailout for them. Senators Lamar Alexander and Patty Murray announced they had reached an agreement regarding these payments and asserted the president supported them, but only wanted to make sure the cuts in cost-sharing reductions benefit consumers, not insurers.
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