New York, Minn. Sue Administration For ‘Cruel And Reckless’ Decision To Cut Off Subsidies To Insurers
Attorneys general from New York and Minnesota allege the Department of Health and Human Services made its decision to stop money that went to insurers to help pay for low-income patients without proper justification.
The Associated Press:
NY, Minnesota Sue Feds Over Cuts To State Health Care Plans
The attorneys general for New York and Minnesota are suing the Trump administration for abruptly cutting off federal funding for health care coverage for more than 800,000 low-income residents in the two states. New York’s Eric Schneiderman and Minnesota’s Lori Swanson announced Friday that the lawsuit filed in Manhattan federal court accuses the Department of Health and Human Services of withholding more than $1 billion. (1/26)
Bloomberg:
Trump Administration Sued Over $1 Billion Obamacare Cut
The U.S. Health and Human Service Department waited until a day before Affordable Care Act payments were due to notify New York and Minnesota by email that more than $1 billion in annual funding was being cut off, according to a complaint filed Friday in federal court in Manhattan. New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman called the state’s health plan a "lifeline" for 700,000 residents. "The abrupt decision to cut these vital funds is a cruel and reckless assault on New York’s families,” he said in a statement. (Larson, Tracer and Recht, 1/26)
In other news on the health law —
The Associated Press:
Strong Health Sign-Ups Under Obamacare Encourage Democrats
Republicans on the campaign trail this year will be eager to tout the potential benefits of their tax cut plan.Voters like Jeanine Limone Draut, a freelance technical writer in Denver, have something else in mind: health care. Failed efforts by congressional Republicans last year to repeal former President Barack Obama's Affordable Care Act exposed not only deep divisions within the party but also revealed core benefits of the law that millions of Americans now take for granted. Draut is tired of the attacks and the uncertainty surrounding the law's future. (1/28)
The Hill:
Poll: Most Unaware Congress Repealed ObamaCare Mandate
Only a third of the public is aware that Congress repealed ObamaCare's individual mandate, according to a new poll released Friday. Of those surveyed by the Kaiser Family Foundation, 36 percent said they're aware Congress repealed the requirement that most have insurance or pay a tax penalty, while 46 percent incorrectly said it has not been repealed. (Hellmann, 1/26)
The Wall Street Journal:
Koch Groups Move On From Health-Care Fight
The billionaire Koch brothers’ political organization spent more than $200 million in the past decade on what official Tim Phillips calls “without question our biggest policy defeat,” the quest to kill the Affordable Care Act. Now, the network of donors is turning its attention to the more urgent matter of protecting Republican majorities in both chambers of Congress this fall. “You can’t pout; you have to move on,” said Mr. Phillips, the longtime president of Americans for Prosperity, the Kochs’ primary vehicle for advocating on health care and other state and federal policies. “We won’t hold the majority forever, and we have many more policy goals.” (Bykowicz, 1/28)