Now, you and I know there is no way the Trumpster could have figured this out on his own. Who did? Who’s pulling the strings? Who stands to benefit? “That Trump would refuse to pay money owed to health insurance companies” suggests its not insurance company lobbyists who are masterminding this maneuver.

President Donald Trump plans to halt payments to health insurance companies serving the poorest customers on the Obamacare exchanges, according to a report by Politico.

Trump has threatened to withhold these funds, valued at $7 billion this year, since shortly after his election victory last November. The threats alone have roiled the health insurance market, and if he follows through, it promises to be significantly disruptive. Trump will make an announcement Friday, Politico reported.

In Trump’s mind, dealing damage to the Obamacare market is a means to achieve leverage he believes will force congressional Democrats to cooperate with replacing the Affordable Care Act, the law President Barack Obama signed in 2010 that has brought the number of uninsured Americans to a historic low.

Trump has been undermining the law and its programs since he took office in January, and he has ramped up his efforts in recent weeks in the aftermath of his failure to get the Affordable Care Act repealed by Congress. Earlier Thursday, Trump signed an executive order directing federal agencies to change regulations to allow insurers to sell policies that exclude people with pre-existing conditions and have skimpier benefits than insurance governed by the Affordable Care Act.

The mere possibility that Trump would refuse to pay money owed to health insurance companies created additional instability in market. Insurers are raising premiums for next year even more than they would have as they try to protect themselves against financial losses if the federal government reneges on its obligations.