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Pennsylvania Democrats challenge Trump health threat

President Donald Trump delayed deciding on whether to fund subsidies for Americans relying on the Affordable Care Act, throwing further uncertainty into the system days after Pennsylvania’s attorney general sued over the issue.

Trump’s administration filed last week to further delay a final decision on the subsidies that help keep insurance costs down for those using so-called Obamacare markets. If those subsidies are eliminated, costs would likely skyrocket on the individual market.

Democrats in Pennsylvania — where Obamacare insurance costs have already risen sharply — are calling on Trump to keep the payments and end the uncertainty plaguing the system. Trump has said he would allow Obamacare to “implode,” forcing Democrats to negotiate its repeal.

Some 426,000 Pennsylvan­ians joined the markets in the most recent enrollment period, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. Ending the federal funds could raise their rates by as much as 21 percent and ultimately affect more than 1 million people, state Attorney General Josh Shapiro said in a May 18 announcement.

Shapiro joined 15 fellow state attorneys general to intervene in the federal court case on whether the subsidies should continue. The case — originally filed by the Republican-led House against then-president Barack Obama — could kill the subsidies indefinitely if Trump decides to no longer fight it.

“If this attempt to destabilize the health care market succeeds, it would have a devastating impact on Pennsylvania families, our economy and the health care market in our commonwealth,” Shapiro said.

So far, no insurance companies have dropped out of Pennsylvania’s Obamacare market for next year, Lancaster Online reported Wednesday. But they still have time to change their minds, and Trump’s subsidy delays could ultimately push some insurers away.

“The stability of the nation’s health care system and the health of millions of Americans now rest in your hands,” nearly 200 congressional Democrats wrote Wednesday in a joint letter to Trump. “Their health care coverage is not a bargaining chip.”

Dem registration slide continues

Democrats across the country have pegged their 2018 rebound hopes on Trump’s relative unpopularity. And even though Trump’s approval ratings have remained low in Pennsylvania, his party’s share of the electorate continues to gradually increase here.

According to the latest statistics from the Department of State — posted about a week after this month’s primaries — Pennsylvania is home to about 4,051,000 Democrats and 3,235,000 Republicans.

In April 2016, the state held 4,062,000 Democrats to 3,126,000 Republicans. In more than a year since those primaries, the Democrats’ numbers have dropped slightly while the GOP’s ranks have grown by more than 100,000.

That’s been true in Blair County, as well: Democrats dropped from nearly 24,000 to 22,700 here over the year, while Republicans’ numbers grew from 41,800 to about 43,500.

It’s all part of the ongoing reddening of Pennsylvania — a trend that brought about Trump’s surprise victory here in November, against most predictions and polls.

The question for Republicans is whether the shift will be enough to protect them from a feared Democratic wave next year. A smattering of special elections since November have featured stronger-than-usual Democratic showings in deep-red districts, setting the stage for tough congressional and gubernatorial fights here in 2018.

Call centers to get new technology

The technology upgrades that sparked a financial standoff and five-month layoffs at state unemployment centers might be a step closer to completion, according to state contract documents.

Capitolwire reported Thursday that Florida-based Geographic Solutions Inc. has been recommended to receive a five-year, $22.5 million contract to upgrade the computer systems that handle unemployment claims. Few details have been released about the contract.

Pennsylvania’s unemployment benefits delivery system relies on Cold War-era computer language and remains in desperate need of upgrades, Auditor General Eugene DePasquale said last month. Upgrades could require $63.8 million total over four years, he said.

“We are two decades into the 21st century, yet the hundreds of thousands of Pennsylvanians who use the unemployment compensation system each year are relying on an ancient mainframe computer being held together with bubble gum and rubber bands,” DePasquale said at the time.

The upgrades have posed a headache for years. The state already sunk tens of millions of dollars into a contract with IBM, prompting Gov. Tom Wolf to sue the company after years of delays and cost overruns.

Disputes over the upgrades and their associated costs prompted the Senate to effectively cut off funds last year, leading Wolf to close several unemployment call centers until the money returned. More than 100 Altoona workers remained out of work until this month, and failure to secure a long-term deal could mean they’ll lose their jobs again by next year.

The attorney general’s office must sign off on the new contract before it becomes official, a Department of Labor and Industry spokeswoman told Capitolwire.

Mirror Staff Writer Ryan Brown is at 946-7457.

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