President Donald Trump slashed funding for health insurance navigators to $10 million annually, a tenth of its allocation in 2024, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced Friday.
Trump made a similar reduction to the consumer outreach program during his last term in office. President Joe Biden restored the funding, coinciding with record sign-ups for health insurance plans. Exchange enrollment grew to more than 24 million this year, breaking the all-time high set in 2024.
Related: Exchange subsidies not doomed under GOP rule
In August, the Biden administration pledged $500 million to navigators over the next five years. On Friday, Trump reversed that commitment and projected the new policy would save $360 million by 2029. His administration argued that navigators enroll too few people to justify their cost. Navigators contend they do more than sign people up for coverage.
In Friday's announcement, CMS also said the savings would reduce the user fee that insurance companies pay to sell policies on the federal exchange. That would lower consumer premiums and directly benefit people who signed up for health insurance exchange policies without tax subsidies, according to CMS.
Republicans must decide the future of the advanced premium tax credits that help people afford coverage this year. The enhanced subsidies expire at the end of 2025.
