The Department of Health and Human Services is still considering an Obamacare waiver from Iowa, despite a report saying that President Trump urged officials to reject it.
“Iowa’s individual health insurance market is collapsing because of Obamacare,” said Brenna Smith, press secretary for Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds. “The Governor’s Office and Iowa Insurance Division are in constant communication with the White House and CMS, seeking approval on our state’s Stopgap Measure. The Stopgap Measure ensures 72,000 Iowa farmers and small business owners have access to affordable health insurance in 2018.”
A spokeswoman for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services confirmed to the Washington Examiner that the waiver was still under review. It is currently undergoing a 30-day public comment period that ends Oct. 19.
The Iowa waiver would create a reinsurance program and restructure the tax credits available to people who get coverage on Obamacare’s exchange. State officials have said they hope that it would offer more choices to customers who purchase coverage on the exchange for 2018, as well as lower premiums.
The Washington Post report said that Trump read a news report about the waiver and called the Administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Seema Verma, to tell her she should reject it. The Post story suggested that Trump’s request was part of the administration’s broader strategy to undermine Obamacare’s success, even though Iowa, a Republican state, was using a waiver to seek relief from Obamacare.
“This measure is a short-term health insurance solution only,” Smith said. “There still needs to be a long-term plan from Congress to replace unaffordable, unworkable and unsustainable Obamacare. The governor is a proponent of market-based health insurance Iowans can afford.”
A White House official declined to comment on the report. “We don’t comment on internal deliberations, but all decisions about 1332 waivers will be made by the Secretary of HHS,” he said, referring to the name of the waiver under Obamacare.
State officials were working on it with top officials from the Department of Health and Human Services, including Secretary Tom Price, who resigned last week amid reports that showed he used private charter jets for travel.
Outside critics have previously said they are wary about whether the Iowa waiver would pass Obamacare’s lengthy rules for allowing it to be greenlighted by federal officials.
