SABOTAGE

Trump Cuts Funding for Obamacare Enrollment Programs

Nonprofits previously tasked with helping people sign up for ACA coverage are now told to divert them to cheaper, lower-quality plans.

The Trump administration has cut grants to nonprofit organizations that help people get health insurance under the Affordable Care Act, a move widely seen as the president’s latest attempt to sabotage the law. Seema Verma, the administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, announced Tuesday that the government will provide $10 million to so-called navigators this fall, compared to $36 million last year and $63 million in 2016. Administration officials justified the move by saying navigators don’t enroll enough people in Obamacare, while private sector agents and brokers do a better job. In addition to slashing funding, the Trump administration has also ordered navigators to direct customers toward other health-care options—ones that do not provide the essential coverage set under Obamacare. Critics say the move will deprive vulnerable groups of people of quality health care. “Yet again the Trump administration is trying to trick Americans into buying junk health insurance plans and making it harder for families to enroll in real affordable, quality health coverage,” House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said in a statement.