Resume insurer payments

Trump administration to resume Obamacare’s insurer payments

By ADAM CANCRYN

The Trump administration is resuming Obamacare’s risk adjustment program, just weeks after it abruptly froze billions of dollars in insurer payments citing a court ruling invalidating parts of the program.

CMS on Tuesday night issued a final rule that it said clarifies the program methodology and addresses issues raised earlier this year by a federal judge, clearing the way for the government to begin making payments again.

“Issuers that had expressed concerns about having to withdraw from markets or becoming insolvent should be assured by our actions today,” CMS Administrator Seema Verma said.

The risk adjustment program, created to protect Obamacare insurers that attract sicker and more expensive customers, has been targeted in court by some companies that allege it penalizes smaller startup health plans.

A federal judge in one case partially agreed, ruling in February that HHS erred in requiring that the risk adjustment program be budget neutral.

Still, CMS’ decision earlier this month to halt the program altogether caught the insurance industry by surprise, generating more uncertainty about the Obamacare markets and prompting criticism from Democrats who characterized the move as an attempt to further undercut the law.