For months, the Trump administration has threatened to sabotage people’s health care by canceling cost-sharing-reduction payments, forcing premiums to skyrocket as much as 20% according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office and destabilizing the insurance markets.
As the Senate HELP Committee begins hearings this week on market stabilization, an overwhelming majority of the members of the Committee have already agreed that one of the best ways to stabilize the markets is to stand up against this part of Trump’s planned sabotage.
It’s not just the Senate Democrats, but a majority of the Committee has said they want to follow through on the promised payments to avoid forcing insurance costs to rise even further:
Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN), Committee Chair: “Without payment of these cost-sharing reductions, Americans will be hurt.” [Alexander Statement, 8/1/17]
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK): “As I’ve been saying, the Senate should take a step back and engage in a bipartisan process to address the failures of the ACA and stabilize the individual markets.” [Murkowski Statement, 7/18/17]
Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA): “‘Families would be hurt’ if payments not made.” [Tweet, 8/1/17]
Susan Collins (R-ME): “It is absolutely essential that the CSR payments continue.” [Tweet, 8/1/17]
Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT): “I think we’re going to have to do that.” [Reuters, 7/31/17]
The majority of the Committee agrees: it’s time to move forward, get this done immediately, deliver certainty for markets and stop another rate increase for consumers.
House GOP Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady has already endorsed the idea.