Speed Reads
President Trump tweeted Friday night and Saturday morning to defend his decision to end ObamaCare subsidy payments to insurance companies:
Trump is correct that stocks for several insurers and hospital operating companies dropped Friday after the subsidy announcement. He is also right that insurance companies have been in what The New York Times labeled a "profit spiral" since the Affordable Care Act (ACA) took effect. Insurers in the ObamaCare marketplaces had their most profitable first quarter ever in 2017 and posted a 29 percent increase in second-quarter profits as compared to last year.
The decision to nix the payments, which subsidized low-cost policies mandated by the ACA, has already come under legal challenge from 18 states.