The Trump administration plans to ask a federal court for another 90-day delay for a lawsuit over Obamacare insurance subsidies, leaving the future of Obamacare subsidies in limbo through the summer.
The lawsuit, House v. Tom Price, focuses on Obamacare’s cost-sharing program, which subsidizes health insurers to help low-income Americans make co-payments and lower deductibles.
Trump said that ending the Obamacare subsidies will force Democrats to negotiate on an Obamacare replacement. Some White House advisers worry that the move may backfire politically if Americans lose health insurance or if people experience spikes in insurance costs.
President Trump has previously expressed his desire to end the Obamacare subsidies. In April, the president said, “Obamacare is dead next month if it doesn’t get that money.” He continued, “I haven’t made my viewpoint clear yet. I don’t want people to get hurt … What I think should happen and will happen is the Democrats will start calling me and negotiating.”
Conservatives argue that President Obama lacked the authority to dole out billions of dollars of insurance subsidies, arguing that Congress never appropriated money for that purpose. Under former Speaker John Boehner, House Republicans sued the Obama administration to prevent it from doling out the subsidies.
In 2016 a federal judge ruled against the Obama administration but allowed the Obama White House to continue providing Obamacare subsidies while the administration appealed the decision.
According to two administration officials, the White House will file the motion to delay the lawsuit on Monday.