Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey joined 15 other AGs from across the U.S. in filing a motion aimed at preserving the so-called “cost-sharing reductions” contained in the Affordable Care Act. Cost-sharing reductions are payments from the federal government to health insurers that allow people with low enough incomes to receive subsidies to help reduce out-of-pocket expenses, such as co-pays and deductibles. In Massachusetts, about 150,000 individuals receive subsidies through the cost-sharing reductions at issue.
The lawsuit, in which the AGs wish to become party to, is a holdover from the Obama administration. The U.S. House sued the Obama administration over the legality of the cost-sharing payments. The GOP-led House won that case but the court gave the administration the opportunity to appeal. With the change of administrations it’s now up to President Trump to pursue the appeal and preserve the ACA subsidies. In their motion, the AG’s say they don’t believe the president – a staunch opponent of the ACA – will act in the best interests of the people receiving the subsidies; they wrote, "The states and their residents cannot continue to rely on the Executive Branch to represent them in this appeal."