Vermont health official: subsidy loss threat to coverage

Vermont health official: subsidy loss threat to coverage
MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) — Vermont’s top health care official says the decision by President Donald Trump to end subsidies that help thousands of Vermonters afford health insurance poses a long-term threat to their coverage.
Vermont Health Access Commissioner Cory Gustafson said Friday that the president’s decision will not have an immediate impact on the approximately 12,200 Vermonters who get subsidized care through the state’s health care exchange.
But he says in the longer-term, the loss of the subsidies means “there’s going to be an adjustment” for those who use qualified health plans.
Gustafson says that in 2016 the federal government provided about $12 million in subsidies for those low-income Vermonters.
Gustafson says the loss of the subsidy shouldn’t change peoples’ decision on whether to sign up for care during the upcoming open enrollment period.