SHARE

See You In Court: NY, 18 Other States Sue Trump Over Obamacare Subsidies

President Donald Trump's move to cut Obamacare subsidies will be tied up in the courts for years if New York's Eric Schneiderman and attorneys general from 18 other states have their way.

"I have a simple message for the millions of NYers & all Americans who woke up this morning scared about their future: we have your backs," Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said in a tweet posted Friday afternoon.

"I have a simple message for the millions of NYers & all Americans who woke up this morning scared about their future: we have your backs," Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said in a tweet posted Friday afternoon.

Photo Credit: Twitter

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman announces a new multistate lawsuit to protect critical subsidies under the Affordable Care Act and the millions of people who rely on them.

Photo Credit: Attorney General Eric Schneiderman

Trump announced that his administration will cut off the Affordable Care Act’s cost-sharing reduction payments, which reduce co-payments, deductibles, and other out-of-pocket costs for low-income Americans. Under the Affordable Care Act, these payments are made monthly to insurance companies. Cutting off the subsidies would destabilize the healthcare market; New York insurance plans alone would take a hit of millions of dollars in money that had previously been budgeted, and insurance rates will rise for New Yorkers, Schneiderman said.

“These subsidies make critical health care affordable for our most vulnerable,” said Attorney General Schneiderman. “President Trump’s move to cut these subsidies is a reckless assault on the health care of thousands of New Yorkers and millions of Americans. I will not allow President Trump to use New York families as political pawns in his dangerous and partisan campaign to sabotage our healthcare system.”

Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Trump is attempting to dismantle the ACA "bit by bit" after being unable to move the repeal of the Affordable Care Act in Congress.

"His actions will slash benefits and raise premiums, and it will single-handedly destabilize insurance markets," Cuomo said. "‎In New York, we will not stand silently by as the federal government tries to take away health care from New Yorkers. As President Trump executes on his mission to strip health care protection from those who need it most, we are proud to be joining states across the nation to sue the federal government and protect our health care. We will not go backwards."

The lawsuit, which was filed Friday afternoon in the Northern District of California by the attorneys general of New York, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and the District of Columbia.

The lawsuit argues that the federal government is required to make these payments under law, and failure to do so would be “contrary to the law” and “arbitrary and capricious” in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act.

to follow Daily Voice North Rockland and receive free news updates.

SCROLL TO NEXT ARTICLE