A Staggering Blow to U.S. Health Care

Just hours after announcing some new ways to destabilize the health-insurance markets created by the Affordable Care Act, on Thursday President Donald Trump delivered a direct blow to a crucial aspect of the law itself: No longer will the federal government reimburse insurance companies for reducing out-of-pocket costs for poorer customers, as the law requires them to do.

This long-feared step compounds all the damage the president has so far inflicted, by pushing insurers to hike premiums or leave the individual insurance market altogether. Trump may not recognize the harm this does to Americans' health and peace of mind. But Congress should. Democrats and Republicans must come together to officially appropriate the payments that the president has recklessly ordered to be withheld.