Democrats should only accept permanent cost sharing reduction payment

Now that President Trump has stopped payments for the cost sharing reduction for low income individuals on the Affordable Care Act exchanges, he is talking about using this as leverage for negotiations with Democrats. Democrats should make it clear they will vote for nothing short of a full and permanent appropriation of the cost sharing reduction. They should reject any short term, one-year or two-year appropriation or any attempt by Trump to trade it for something he wants.

This move by Trump was a spiteful act of policy nihilism. It is going to cause real chaos for insurers and individuals. Some people will be financially hurt, but the damage is fairly manageable. Thanks to the design of the ACA, not paying the cost sharing reduction just causes the premium tax credit to go up even more, making insurance cheaper for some people. Ironically, this move might even have, on net, a positive impact on the number of people who can afford care. Even if it doesn’t, Trump will very likely lose the coming lawsuits about it anyway.

So while this is a vengeful and dramatic act of sabotage, Democrats should make it clear it is one they are willing to live with.

Trump has proven himself to be a bully, which is why it is critical Democrats stand up and say they will not be bullied. Make it clear they will not negotiate to undo Trump's inflicted chaos.

This is a great issue for Democrats to take a stand on and not give an inch for because even if they lose, the policy fallout is manageable. But if Democrats reward Trump's bullying tactics by voting for anything short of permanent appropriation with no strings attached, it will only encourage him to do it again and again.

This fight is already bad enough, but I shudder think about how, if successful, Trump might use this tactic when the stakes are much higher, like over the debt ceiling or starting another war.