Trump administration to slash spending on ACA enrollment

The Trump administration indicated this week that it plans to dramatically cut spending on advertising and promotion for enrollment under the ACA (Source: “Trump Administration Sharply Cuts Spending on Health Law Enrollment,” New York Times, Aug. 31, 2017)

Officials with the Department of Health and Human Services said on Thursday that the advertising budget for the open enrollment period that starts in November would be cut to $10 million, compared with $100 million spent by the Obama administration last year, a drop of 90 percent. Additionally, grants to about 100 nonprofit groups, known as navigators, that help people enroll in health plans offered by the insurance marketplaces will be cut to a total of $36 million, from about $63 million.

The officials said the administration believed that the cuts were necessary because of “diminishing returns” from advertising. They said the number of first-time enrollees in Affordable Care Act coverage fell by 42 percent this year, compared with 2016.