The Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report last week that claimed actions by the Trump administration negatively impacted enrollment in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace during the 2017 sign-up period.
The non-partisan analysis by GAO cited two significant methods HHS stifled enrollment in the insurance marketplaces:
- HHS reduced its advertising budget by 90 percent—spending $10 million in late 2017 for the 2018 enrollment, compared to $100 in late 2016 for 2017 enrollment.
- HHS reduced funds for navigator organizations by 42 percent. These in-person enrollment aides helped consumers select an insurance plan and sign up for coverage. HHS spent $63 million in 2016 to $37 last year.
The GAO report also questioned HHS’s decision to avoid setting enrollment targets, like the Obama administration had done in previous years. It also suggested HHS collect data on other aspects of the consumer experience.
The result? Enrollment dropped 5 percent—falling to 8.7 million for 2018 from 9.2 million in 2017.
A group of Democratic legislators—including Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr. D-New Jersey, and Sens. Patty Murray, D-Washington, Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, and Bob Casey, D-Pennsylvania—released a statement in response to the GAO report.
“This independent and nonpartisan GAO report confirms that the Trump Administration’s sabotage of our health care system is driving up costs for consumers and leaving more Americans without health insurance,” the lawmakers wrote. “It’s not surprising that consumers were confused about the status of the ACA at the end of last year, which made the extreme cuts to consumer outreach and advertising that much more egregious."
Nicholas joined TriMed in 2016 as the managing editor of the Chicago office. After receiving his master’s from Roosevelt University, he worked in various writing/editing roles for magazines ranging in topic from billiards to metallurgy. Currently on Chicago’s north side, Nicholas keeps busy by running, reading and talking to his two cats.