October 13, 2017 – WASHINGTON, DC
Like others who care about the well-being and health care of all Americans, the Center for Medicare Advocacy is dismayed by the Trump Administration’s actions to undermine the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
Following a pattern of sabotaging the ACA – including reducing the ACA enrollment period and gutting funding for both advertising and personal enrollment assistance – President Trump is doubling down on creating chaos. His most recent actions will dramatically increase individual premiums and out-of-pocket costs, while also encouraging people to spend their money on all-but-worthless plans. He is working to dismantle whatever he can of the ACA, regardless of the harm it will cause for millions of families.
Yesterday’s Executive Order would return us to the days when millions of Americans lacked valuable health insurance and consumer protections. The president’s Order would allow the sale of junk plans, sold across state lines, to cherry-pick younger, healthier people. These so-called insurance plans could turn away people with pre-existing conditions, impose lifetime and annual limits, charge older people more and increase out-of-pocket costs.
While Americans were still reeling from yesterday’s action, the White House announced last night that, starting next month, it will no longer fund the cost-sharing reduction subsidies (CSRs) that help lower income people afford valuable ACA health coverage. This decision will lead to increased premiums for millions of individuals. In fact, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates these actions will increase health insurance costs by 20% in 2018 and up to 25% in 2020. These misguided steps could also increase Medicare costs as people will come onto the program without having had adequate health coverage and care.
Judith Stein, Executive Director of the Center for Medicare Advocacy, states “Congress tried but failed to repeal the Affordable Care Act because of the repeated, overwhelming outcry from the public and virtually every segment of the health care world. The vast majority of Americans want the ACA refined, not repealed. The Administration is ignoring the clearly expressed will of the people with actions that gratuitously harm American families. We urge decision-makers to pursue bipartisan efforts to improve the ACA and advance access to quality coverage and care for all Americans.”
Judith Stein
Executive Director/Attorney
Center for Medicare Advocacy, Inc.