On First Day of Open Enrollment in Idaho, Senator Murray Calls on Republicans to Come to the Table to Prevent Health Care Costs from Skyrocketing
KFF: Most Republicans and MAGA Supporters Say Congress Should Extend the Enhanced ACA Tax Credits Set to Expire Next Year
Typical 60-year-old couple in Idaho making $85,000 will face a $17,900 spike in annual premiums
RSVP: Murray hosts call with Montanans who rely on ACA tax credits at 5 PM ET today as she takes case directly to red states over Republicans’ refusal to prevent people’s costs from skyrocketing
WATCH: Senator Murray’s Remarks
Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, delivered the following remarks on government funding at this afternoon’s Senate Democratic leadership press conference on the fifteenth day of President Trump and Republicans’ shutdown.
Senator Murray’s remarks, as delivered, are below:
“You know, for weeks, I’ve been hearing a lot of heart-breaking stories from folks back home in my home state of Washington: families who are absolutely panicking about their premiums that are doubling, the small business owners who are having to think about abandoning the job they love to get employer-sponsored health care elsewhere, or just forgoing coverage altogether.
“But today, I actually want to talk about our neighbors: Idaho. Because today is the first day of open enrollment in Idaho. Which means today—right now—families are getting their first real look at the cost of Republicans’ inaction on health care.
“Republicans don’t seem very eager to talk about that. But there is no running from the fact that these hikes are going to crush people.
“That’s why last week, I actually held a call with people in Idaho who are watching their health care costs go through the roof. And here is what I heard.
“One retiree, who’s not old enough yet to be on Medicare, told me about how her premiums are going to jump by 173 percent. Almost triple.
“You think that’s bad? Another Idahoan I spoke with had learned that with tax credits, his premium will be $367 a month. Without tax credits? A whopping $2,232 a month.
“But Bob and Susan are far from alone. There are more than 100,000 people in Idaho who rely on the ACA tax credits to help them afford their health care coverage.
“Today those families will log on to shop for a health plan, and feel their heart drop as they see these prices have skyrocketed. They are wondering if they can even afford health care now.
“It is terrifying. And it’s happening right now in Idaho. And it is coming to states across the country in two weeks. Several other states already have window shopping for these health plans.
“Folks in my state have already gotten notices about premiums doubling.
“And yet, all the while, Republican leaders are trying to stick their heads in the sand and trying to pretend that everything is fine.
“On one hand, we have many Republicans saying, ‘what’s the rush? We can talk about maybe doing something on health care later.’ Never mind the fact they refused to talk about this earlier, even as they rushed to jam through tax breaks for billionaires a few months ago.
“And on the other hand, we have some Republicans basically saying they don’t want to do anything. In fact, some Republicans still wish they could repeal the Affordable Care Act.
“How detached from reality can Republicans get?
“It’s bad enough so many of them can see the iceberg coming, and are saying, ‘eh, we’ll worry about that after the ship goes down.’ But we’ve also got Republicans saying, ‘bet, you wish this ship had sunk earlier?’ Some Republicans are all but cheering for higher premiums.
“Republicans may have chosen to shut down the government rather than address health care, but Idaho just opened up enrollment, and the rest of the nation is around the bend.
“President Trump and Republican Leadership may try to bury their heads in the sand, but they are not going to be able to bury the headline here: health care premiums are doubling, tripling, and even in some places, quadrupling.
“Families don’t have the luxury of ignoring health care.
“But instead of putting a single penny forward to help people afford health care, Donald Trump is giving twenty billion dollars, taxpayer money, to Argentina in a bailout?
“What happened to America First?
“So the bottom line hasn’t changed: when Republicans are ready to get serious, Democrats will be at the negotiating table—where we have been for weeks—ready to reach a bipartisan deal that opens up the government, and addresses this health care crisis.”
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