Dem senator: Trump’s decision to end key ObamaCare payments is ‘nuclear grade bananas’

Sen. Chis Murphy (D-Conn.) ripped President Trump for his decision to end ObamaCare subsidy payments on Friday, calling it “a temper tantrum that sets the entire health system on fire.”

“Trump’s decision to stop ACA payments is nuclear grade bananas — a temper tantrum that sets the entire health system on fire,” Murphy tweeted. “My god.”

Trump’s decision to stop ACA payments is nuclear grade bananas – a temper tantrum that sets the entire health system on fire. My god.

— Chris Murphy (@ChrisMurphyCT) October 13, 2017

The White House announced late Thursday night that Trump would end the insurer subsidy payments, known as cost-sharing reductions. The payments are worth an estimated $7 billion this year.

{mosads}”Based on guidance from the Department of Justice, the Department of Health and Human Services has concluded that there is no appropriation for cost-sharing reduction payments to insurance companies under Obamacare. In light of this analysis, the Government cannot lawfully make the cost-sharing reduction payments,” the White House said in a statement.

The payments were part of the Affordable Care Act and helped low-income people afford various out-of-pocket costs associated with health insurance. Insurers have said without the payments, they will either have to increase premiums or exit the individual markets.

Democrats blasted Trump for the decision to end the payments. Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) issued a joint statement Thursday night calling the decision a “spiteful act of vast, pointless sabotage.”

Trump’s decision has also already spawned legal action, with 15 states and Washington, D.C., announcing Friday they would sue Trump to stop him from ending the payments.