After taking funding for “the wall” along the U.S. southern border off the table in ongoing budget negotiations, President Trump today removed another sticking point with the Democrats by promising to continue $7 billion a year in cost-sharing payments to Obamacare health insurers.
Funding authorization for the federal government expires April 28 on the president’s 100th day in office unless Congress approves a continuing resolution or a new budget, thus the concessions to gain votes by Democrats.
The cost-sharing funds, never authorized by Congress but dispensed anyway by the Obama administration, were ruled illegal by a federal judge. An appeal is to be heard next month, but Trump has nonetheless vowed to continue the appropriations that help insurers make up for losses on policies sold on the Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplaces.