Trump told aides in a Tuesday White House meeting that he wanted to end the cost-sharing reduction payments to insurers that reimburse them for reducing co-pays and deductibles of low-income Obamacare customers, according to Politico.
Insurers have said they would leave the Obamacare exchanges or drastically raise prices without the payments. No decision has been finalized yet.
Senior administration officials including Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price are wary of ending the payments as it could unravel the individual market, which is for people who don't get insurance through work.
Insurers have been pushing the White House for months to make a decision on the cost-sharing payments for 2018. Insurers are required under Obamacare to lower co-pays and deductibles and get reimbursed by the government.
But if Trump cuts off the payments this year, insurers could leave the Obamacare exchanges immediately.
Insurers have been seeking an answer on 2018 because they are formulating plans for next year and face a June deadline to send in rates in 38 states that use healthcare.gov.
