The Ultimate Word on the Stupidity of Suspending Cost Sharing Payments for Health Insurance

From Nicholas Bagley at TIE

When Someone Else Says It Better Than We Can We Print Them

Over at The Incidental Economist, a great health care forum, law professor Nicholas Bagley explans the idiocy of the administration's decision to end cost reduction payment to insurance companies. Here is his summary.

So taxpayers will have to pay increased premium subsidies at the front end. Then they’ll also pay the cost-sharing money through litigation at the back end. It’s a financial bath, and for no good reason other than sheer political cussedness.

What a stupid, profligate, and unnecessary mess.

The issue straight forward legally is this. Congress required the payments by law. Because Congress did not appropriate money for the payments the President could and did suspend them. But because we live in a nation of laws the insurance companies can go to court, get their payments and the appropriations issue will not stand in the way of a court ordered payment.

All we are left with is higher costs for everybody, and less health care for low and middle income families. That second thing, of course is what the Republicans always wanted.