Donald Trump to stop key Obamacare payments
White House says it ‘cannot lawfully pay’ subsidies to health insurers

The White House has announced the immediate scrapping of subsidies to health insurance companies introduced under the Obamacare health law to reduce out-of-pocket medical expenses for low-income earners.
The decision to stop paying the subsidies was made on guidance from the Justice Department, after Republicans successfully claimed the Affordable Care Act did not contain specific language providing appropriations to cover the cost - an estimated £6.7bn for the coming year.
“The government cannot lawfully make the cost-sharing reduction payments. Congress needs to repeal and replace the disastrous Obamacare law and provide real relief to the American people,” the White House said in a statement.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
“After Republicans failed to repeal the health law in Congress, Trump appears determined to dismantle it on his own,” says The New York Times.
In a joint statement, the top Democrats in Congress, House minority leader Nancy Pelosi of California and Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer of New York, said Trump had “apparently decided to punish the American people for his inability to improve our health care system”.
“It is a spiteful act of vast, pointless sabotage levelled at working families and the middle class in every corner of America,” the pair said.
Trump has threatened for months to stop the payments, which go to insurers that are currently required by the law “to help eligible consumers afford their deductibles and other out-of-pocket expenses”, says The Washington Post.
The announcement came shortly after the US president signed a new executive order allowing small businesses to band together across state lines in order to buy cheaper, less-regulated health plans for employees that offer fewer benefits.
“It was Trump’s most concrete step to undo Obamacare since he took office in January promising to dismantle Democratic former president Barack Obama’s signature domestic policy achievement,” Reuters says.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
A running list of RFK Jr.'s controversies
In Depth The man atop the Department of Health and Human Services has had no shortage of scandals over the years
By Brigid Kennedy
-
Film reviews: Sinners and The King of Kings
Feature Vampires lay siege to a Mississippi juke joint and an animated retelling of Jesus' life
By The Week US
-
Music reviews: Bon Iver, Valerie June, and The Waterboys
Feature "Sable, Fable," "Owls, Omens, and Oracles," "Life, Death, and Dennis Hopper"
By The Week US
-
A running list of RFK Jr.'s controversies
In Depth The man atop the Department of Health and Human Services has had no shortage of scandals over the years
By Brigid Kennedy
-
IMF sees slump from tariffs, Trump tries to calm markets
Speed Read The International Monetary Fund predicts the U.S. and global economies will slow significantly due to the president's trade war
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Climate: Trump's attempt to bring back coal
Feature Trump rolls back climate policies with executive orders aimed at reviving the coal industry
By The Week US
-
Trump's budget: Gutting Medicaid to pass tax cuts?
Feature To extend Trump's tax cuts, the GOP is looking to cut Medicaid and other assistance programs
By The Week US
-
Trump tariffs place trucking industry in the crosshairs
IN THE SPOTLIGHT As the White House barrels ahead with its massive tariff project, American truckers are feeling the heat from a global trade war
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US
-
Trump stands by Hegseth amid ouster reports
Speed Read The president dismissed reports that he was on the verge of firing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over a second national security breach
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US
-
Corruption: The road to crony capitalism
Feature Trump's tariff pause sent the stock market soaring — was it insider trading?
By The Week US
-
How 'China shock 2.0' will roil global markets
Feature An overflow of Chinese goods is flooding the global market. Tariffs won’t stop it.
By The Week US