FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 18, 2017
Contact: James Hallinan (505) 660-2216
Santa Fe, NM – In light of the Trump Administration’s abrupt refusal to make the October cost-sharing subsidy payments required by the Affordable Care Act, Attorney General Hector Balderas today filed a motion to compel the federal government to follow the law and pay the subsidies that millions of Americans rely on to lower the out-of-pocket costs in their insurance plans.
“All New Mexicans deserve access to quality, affordable healthcare, and I will continue to fight President Trump to ensure that right is not taken away from them,” said Attorney General Balderas. “I will not allow the President’s politics to put the health and safety of New Mexico’s children and families and risk.”
The Affordable Care Act’s mandatory cost-sharing subsidy payments help working families access more affordable healthcare coverage by helping individuals with incomes between $11,880 and $29,700 enroll in plans with lower deductibles, copayments or coinsurance, reducing their out-of-pocket costs.
Just last week, Attorney General Balderas and a coalition of 18 state attorneys general (including the District of Columbia) sued the Trump Administration over its abrupt decision to sabotage the Affordable Care Act by refusing to make the cost-sharing subsidy payments by the October monthly deadline. More than six million Americans benefit from the cost sharing subsidies. Without the funds, millions stand to lose their health insurance coverage.
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