Health insurers came under pressure Tuesday after the Trump administration asked the courts to completely overturn the Affordable Care Act, going beyond its prior position in a Texas lawsuit pending in the court of appeals fifth circuit.
"We said before that the district court's decision was misguided and wrong. So, too, is the government's reversal to now support it," said Matt Eyles, the president and CEO of America's Health Insurance Plans said in a statement, criticizing the administration's position. "Increased uncertainty around the outcome of pending court cases may impact rates," said Dave Dillon, a fellow of the Society of Actuaries, adding"If the markets are perceived as being more volatile… carriers could increase rates to help address these uncertainties."
The Affordable Care Act gives the Health and Human Services secretary tremendous discretion over health care market matters. The Trump administration has used Medicaid waivers built in the legislation, to allow Republican states to add work requirements for Medicaid recipients. Without the measure, the Trump administration might lose the executive authority to carry out one of its proposals to bring down drug prices, basing Medicare Part D pharmaceutical reimbursement rates on lower international drug prices.
"Could you reset the clock and go back to the status of federal payment … pre-ACA?" asked Katherine Hempstead, senior policy advisor at eh Robert Wood Johnson Foundation."The ACA is very interwoven into many aspects of the health care financing and delivery system now, in ways that I think are pretty hard to unravel."