US President Donald Trump would hurt low-income Americans by doing away with Obamacare subsidies and make it harder for him to engage in bipartisan talks with Democrats as the US Congress edges toward a possible government shutdown, US lawmakers said on Sunday.
The White House has announced that the Republican administration will stop paying billions of US dollars to insurers to help low-income earners meet out-of-pocket medical expenses as part of the US president’s step-by-step effort to dismantle the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Democratic former US president Barack Obama’s signature healthcare law.
The expected loss of cost-sharing subsidies, estimated to be worth US$7 billion this year and US$10 billion next year, has prompted worries about insurance market chaos, and undermined the prices of insurer and hospital company shares.
By antagonizing Democrats who support Obamacare, Trump’s actions could also lead to political turmoil over spending in December, when Republicans hope to put the final touches on a sweeping tax reform bill.
Republican US Senator Susan Collins, who has opposed Trump-backed legislation to repeal and replace Obamacare, said that the US president’s move will also affect the ability of vulnerable low-income people to access healthcare and afford out-of-pocket medical costs.
“I’m very concerned about what the impact is going to be for people,” Collins said on CNN’s State of the Union.
“The funding that is available under the cost-sharing reductions is used to subsidize their out-of-pocket costs and if they can’t afford their deductible, then their insurance is pretty much useless,” Collins said.
Asked if Trump’s actions would hurt Americans, she replied: “I do believe that.”
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