AUSTIN – The Texas Public Policy Foundation released the following statement in response to the Trump Administration’s decision to cease Obamacare’s cost-sharing reduction payments to insurers:
“The decision to end Obamacare’s cost-sharing subsidies to insurers is welcome news for both the rule of law and the continuing fight to repeal Obamacare,” said Chip Roy, director of the Center for Tenth Amendment Action at TPPF. “These subsidies to insurance companies — to the tune of tens of billions of dollars — never received an appropriation by Congress.This resulted in a lawsuit from the House of Representatives on the grounds that the Obama Administration violated the Constitution by circumventing congressional authority. A District Court upheld the House’s lawsuit and the case was put on hold while the new administration determined whether or not it would defend these payments. Fortunately, the right decision has been made and an important message has been sent that our tax dollars will not and should not be used to subsidize insurance companies’ profits.”
“Additionally, this decision provides a pivotal opportunity for Congress to refocus its priorities on repealing the cost-driving Obamacare insurance regulations that have caused premiums and deductibles to skyrocket,” said Drew White, senior federal policy analyst at TPPF. “The fact remains that until the regulatory architecture is repealed, the American people will continue to suffer under this law’s disastrous one-size-fits-all regulatory scheme. Congress should follow the White House’s lead to deliver on these promises.”
“Under no circumstances should Congress appropriate money to fund these harmful cost-sharing subsidies,” said Roy. “Congress must seize the momentum that the White House has provided to repeal, at a minimum, Obamacare’s insurance regulations.This is the only way to drive down premiums and begin the hard work of providing high-quality, affordable care for all Americans through a sustained market-driven commitment to health care freedom.”
For more information or to request an interview with Mr. Roy or Mr. White, please contact Alicia Pierce at [email protected] or 512-472-2700.
Chip Roy is the director of the Center for Tenth Amendment Action at Texas Public Policy Foundation.
Drew White is the Senior Federal Policy Analyst for the Center for Tenth Amendment Action at the Texas Public Policy Foundation.
The Texas Public Policy Foundation is a non-profit free-market research institute based in Austin. The Texas Public Policy Foundation aims to advance a societal framework that effectively fosters human flourishing based upon cooperation and mutually beneficial exchange of ideas and speech.
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