Kasich on proposal to end ObamaCare subsidies: ‘That would be a disaster’

Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R) on Sunday slammed President Trump’s proposal to end key payments to insurance companies participating in ObamaCare, saying it would only “create more chaos” for the healthcare system.

“That would be a disaster,” Kasich said on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “No, he’s got to continue to fund it. No, you cannot just cut this off and create more chaos.”

Trump previously threatened to end insurance subsidies if a measure repealing the Affordable Care Act failed in the Senate.

{mosads}

After the Senate narrowly rejected a so-called “skinny” ObamaCare repeal bill last month, Trump threatened to let the ACA “implode,” which he said would allow him to strike a deal with Democrats to do away with the law.

He has for months raised the prospect of ending insurance subsidies as a way to trigger a healthcare crisis that would prompt Democrats to act.

The White House said this week that the federal government would continue to make the payments in August, after the Congressional Budget Office warned that not doing so could send ObamaCare premiums soaring. 

Kasich said that he and Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, a Democrat, have been working on a plan to stabilize ObamaCare insurance markets and “would be glad to present” that proposal to lawmakers in the Senate.

“You got to do this in a bipartisan way, and the thing you have to do is stabilize those insurance markets,” he said. “And if you want to take away payments, you’re gonna create chaos. We can’t have that.”