Report: Cutting Obamacare subsidies could hike some premiums
— -- Health insurance premiums could rise by roughly 20 percent next year for some consumers if President Donald Trump decides to end key Obamacare subsidy payments to insurers, according to a new analysis from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.
Prepared at the request of congressional Democrats, the estimate sought to model the impact of Trump carrying out his threat to pull back the cost-sharing reduction (CSR) payments to insurers that help lower health care costs for low-income Americans.
"Implementing the policy would increase the federal deficit, on net, by $194 billion from 2017 through 2026," the report also reads.
According to the analysis released Tuesday, the number of uninsured Americans would increase next year without the subsidy payments, but become slightly lower -- relative to the current figures -- beginning in 2020.
The CSR payments, valued at approximately $7 billion this year, are made monthly, and the next installment is due on Aug. 21. While Republicans and Democrats in Congress want to continue the payments to stabilize insurance markets, it's unclear what the White House will do in the coming weeks, given Trump's threats to let Obamacare fail.
Senate Republicans failed to advance their bill to repeal and replace Obamacare last month, coming up one vote short.
