OBAMACARE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The Trump administration said it would resume billions of dollars in payments expected by insurers under an Affordable Care Act program, ending a brief suspension that it had said was necessary because of a judge’s ruling. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which administers the program known as risk adjustment, said late Tuesday [7-24-18] it released a rule that offers further explanation for the program’s previously established methodology. The move ‘allows us to resume the risk adjustment program without delay,’ the agency said. The Trump administration announced July 7 that it was suspending the program, saying the action stemmed from a February decision by a federal judge in New Mexico who ruled that part of the risk-adjustment program’s implementation was flawed and hadn’t been adequately justified by federal regulators. The suspension drew immediate outcry from insurers, which rely on the payments. Industry officials said that if they didn’t get clarity around the risk-adjustment program, insurers might push for higher premiums on ACA plans for next year. The new rule appears to clear the way for the planned flow this fall of risk-adjustment money tied to the 2017 plan year, a total that CMS had said amounted to $10.4 billion.”
-Anna Wilde Mathews, “Trump Administration to Resume ‘Risk Adjustment’ Payments to Insurers,” The Wall Street Journal, July 24 , 2018 10:03 pm