In Surprising Twist, Ryan Says 'Insurer Bailout' Payments Should Continue

The payments -- which reimburse insurers for subsidies that lower the cost of deductibles, copayments and coinsurance for those covered by the health law -- have been a long-time target of congressional Republicans.

Senior House Republicans said Thursday that they expected the federal government to continue paying billions of dollars in subsidies to health insurance companies to keep low-income people covered under the Affordable Care Act for the rest of this year — and perhaps for 2018 as well. (Pear and Abelson, 3/30)

“While the lawsuit is being litigated then the administration funds these benefits. That’s how they’ve been doing it and I don’t see any change in that,” Mr. Ryan of Wisconsin told reporters Thursday. Mr. Ryan is the highest-ranking Republican to address the issue and his comments suggest Republicans aren't preparing to take immediate steps to undermine the ACA, the 2010 law also known as Obamacare for the president who signed it. (Peterson, 3/30)

House Republicans sued the Obama administration over these "cost-sharing reductions," or CSRs, which reimburse insurers for giving discounted deductibles to low-income ObamaCare enrollees. The GOP argued the payments were being made unconstitutionally, without a congressional appropriation. (Sullivan, 3/30)

This is part of the Morning Briefing, a summary of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Sign up for an email subscription.

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