Trump administration freezes risk adjustment payments

The Trump administration is halting billions of dollars of payments to insurers under the Affordable Care Act’s risk-adjustment program, a move that further disrupts the insurance market and could lead to more premium increases next year.

Citing conflicting federal court decisions on the program, the CMS said it cannot collect or disburse funds under the risk-adjustment program. All in all, the program was slated to shift $10.4 billion among insurers in 2017, according to the agency.

The permanent program was meant to reduce the incentive for health insurers to cherry-pick healthy members. It shuffles money from plans with healthier-than-average members to those with larger numbers of sicker, higher-cost members. The program is based on a patient’s risk score, which...