Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer on Monday called on the Trump administration to stop “hemming and hawing” and announce that it will continue to make cost-sharing reduction payments under Obamacare in order to ensure lower premiums for people around the country.
The administration has threatened to cut those payments off due to its opposition to the law. But on Monday, officials said they would continue them if a 90-day extension were granted in a case against the law being heard by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.
Still, Schumer said the White House needs to say it will permanently make those payments.
“Clearly by today’s action and their decision to make the next payment, the White House realizes that eliminating cost sharing reduction payments would cause chaos in the markets, and they would get the blame,” said Schumer, D-N.Y. “Unfortunately, by kicking the can down the road once again, the administration is continuing to sow uncertainty in the markets that will hurt millions of Americans.”
“Instead of hemming and hawing, they ought to step up to the plate and say once and for all that they will make these payments permanently, which help millions of Americans pay less for their healthcare,” Schumer said.
The battle stems from 2014, when House Republicans launched the lawsuit. A federal judge ruled in favor of them last year, setting off the appeals process that allowed payments to continue under President Obama.
Monday marked the second 90-day extension the administration has asked for in the case. The court granted one extension after Trump’s victory, and noted that changes were likely to the seven-year-old healthcare law.
