The Trump re-election campaign just launched a national cable advertising campaign meant to distract from his troubles, distort the truth on health care and potentially damage the open enrollment period that starts tomorrow. The Trump administration’s health care repeal agenda has been rejected by voters and by Congress because it would rip coverage away from tens of millions Americans, increase premiums 20% and gut protections like those for people with pre-existing conditions.
Sadly, that doesn’t stop them from using lies and distortions to push it once again.
“The Trump campaign is using the worst of distortion and lies about health care to distract from the president’s problems,” said Protect Our Care Campaign Director Brad Woodhouse. “Sadly, it has led him back to his favorite target — hurting health care for middle class families.”
Learn the truth…
LIE #1: “OBAMACARE IS FAILING”
FACT: The Affordable Care Act Is Not Failing
- CBO: ACA Market Is Stable. The non-partisan CBO found that under current law, the ACA’s mix of carrots and sticks “are anticipated to cause sufficient demand for insurance by people with low health care expenditures for the market to be stable.”
- ACA Market Will Remain Stable So Long As The Trump Administration Is Not “Disruptive.” S&P Global repeatedly reports that “2016 results and the market enrollment so far in 2017 show that the ACA individual market is not in a ‘death spiral.’” And, S&P expects the individual health insurance market is set for stability and profitability as long as the Administration is not “disruptive.”
- The Affordable Care Act Has Brought Financial Security To Millions Of People. The National Bureau of Economic Research looked at the impacts of expanding Medicaid and found that the number of unpaid bills and debt has been reduced for those who gained coverage from the expanded Medicaid program.
- No Bare Counties. Again, as in years past, residents in each county will have plans to choose from on the individual market.
FACT: Despite The Law’s Success, The Trump Administration Is Attempting to Sabotage The ACA
While President Trump and Republicans in Congress have been unable to repeal the health care law, they have been doing everything they can to sabotage the marketplace, including:
- President Trump defunding the law’s mandatory cost-sharing-reduction payments, which the nonpartisan Congressional Budget office said would increase rates by 20% in 2018 and 25% in 2020.
- Cutting 90% of the funding for advertising to support open enrollment.
- President Trump signing an Executive Order on his first day in office demanding that agencies dismantle as much of the law as they can.
- Signing an Executive Order to create garbage insurance plans which will raise premiums, slash coverage and end protections for those with pre-existing conditions.
- Pursuing partisan repeal of the Affordable Care Act, which has created uncertainty in the market and led to higher premiums.
And these actions have had a significant impact on premiums across the country:
- Alaska — Alaska Public Media: Premera to bump up premium to cover Trump cut
- Arizona — Cronkite News: Cancer survivor says Trump plan sabotages health insurance coverage
- Colorado — The Denver Channel: Colorado premiums will rise by 6% on top of existing hikes after Trump ends CSR subsidy payments
- North Carolina — WRAL: Trump’s move prompts 14 percent rate increase on Blue Cross ACA plans
- Pennsylvania — Philly Voice: Trump cuts to drive up Obamacare premiums in Pennsylvania by 30 percent
LIE #2: “INSURANCE PREMIUMS SKYROCKETING”
FACT: Tax Credits Help People Get Affordable Coverage
HHS: 80 Percent Of Marketplace Enrollees Can Obtain 2018 Coverage For $75 Or Less Per Month After Tax Credits. [HHS Marketplace Landscape Report, 10/30/17]
FACT: With Stable Policy By The Trump Administration, Premium Increases Would Have Been Lower
Kaiser Family Foundation: Lack Of CSR Payments Resulted In Surcharge In Premiums Of 7.1 To 38 Percent. “As shown in Table 1, among those insurers that specify the surcharge on silver plans for the discontinuation of CSR payments, the amount of the surcharge ranges from 7.1% to 38%.” [KFF, 10/27/17]
LIE #3: WORKING FAMILIES SUFFER WHILE DEMOCRATS…BLOCK A BETTER PLAN TO REPEAL AND REPLACE OBAMACARE ONCE AND FOR ALL
FACT: Every Iteration Of A GOP Health Care Repeal Bill Results In Less Coverage, Higher Costs, And Fewer Protections All To Give Tax Breaks For The Wealthy And Big Corporations
LIE #4: “HE WANTS WHAT’S BEST FOR THE AMERICAN PEOPLE: TOP QUALITY HEALTH CARE YOU CAN AFFORD”
FACT: President Trump’s favored Health Care Repeal Bill, The Graham-Cassidy Bill, Goes Even Further Than Previous Efforts To Gut Protections For People With Pre-Existing Conditions
- “The New Version Appears To Go Further In Weakening Protections For Sick People, Apparently To Win Over Conservatives Who Continue To Express Reservations.” [Washington Post Plum Line, 9/25/17]
- “The Bill Continues, However, To Give States Broad New Authority To Allow Insurance Companies To Provide Skimpier Plans With Far Fewer Benefits While Charging Higher Premiums To The Sick And The Old.” [Bloomberg, 9/25/17]
- “The New Draft Attempts To Win Over Skeptical Conservatives By Further Weakening Consumer Protections For Americans In Bad Health.” [Slate, 9/25/17]
- “States Would Have Even More Flexibility To Roll Back Some Of The Affordable Care Act’s Insurance Regulations — Including The Guarantees It Provides For People With Pre-Existing Conditions.” [Axios, 9/25/17]
- Independent Analyses “Have Concluded That Major Funding Cuts And Loosened Insurance Regulations In The Bill Will Likely Erode Coverage For Many Vulnerable Americans.” [LA Times, 9/25/17]
- “States Could Loosen Coverage Requirements Under The Law’s Mandates, Including Prohibiting Insurers From Charging Seriously Ill People Higher Premiums And Letting Them Sell Policies Covering Fewer Services.” [Associated Press, 9/25/17]
LIE #5: DEMOCRATS “[OBSTRUCT] OUR PRESIDENT JUST TO SCORE POLITICAL POINTS”
FACT: President Trump’s White House Pulled The Plug On Good Faith Bipartisan Negotiations
“House Speaker Paul Ryan And The White House Have Informed Senate Republican Leaders That They Oppose A Bipartisan Plan To Stabilize Obamacare Being Written In The Senate.” “House Speaker Paul Ryan and the White House have informed Senate Republican leaders that they oppose a bipartisan plan to stabilize Obamacare being written in the Senate, according to Trump administration and congressional sources, in a clear bid to boost the Senate’s prospects of repealing the health law.” [Politico, 9/19/17] “President Donald Trump Will Oppose Any Congressional Attempts To Reinstate Funding For Obamacare Subsidies.” [Politico, 10/13/17]
FACT: Time And Time Again, The American People Have Rejected Health Care Repeal
Poll: GOP Effort To Repeal Health Care Is The Most Unpopular Piece Of Legislation In Three Decades. [Axios, 7/7/17]
Kaiser Health Tracking Poll: Majority Want President Trump And Congress To Work On Legislation To Stabilize The Marketplaces Over Repeal Efforts. “The majority of the public think it is more important for President Trump and Congress to work on legislation to stabilize the marketplaces in order to minimize premiums increases and encourage more insurers to participate in the marketplaces than continue efforts to repeal and replace the 2010 health care law (66 percent vs. 29 percent).” [KFF, 10/13/17]
Kaiser Health Tracking Poll: 7 In 10 Say It Is ‘Extremely’ Or ‘Very’ Important For Congress To Pass Legislation To Stabilize ACA Marketplaces. “This is followed by seven in ten (69 percent) who say [it is ‘extremely’ or ‘very’ important for Congress to pass] legislation to stabilize the ACA marketplaces in order to minimize premium increases and encourage more insurers to offer health plans.” [KFF, 9/22/17]
Kaiser Health Tracking Poll: Most Americans, Including The Majority Of Trump Supporters, Think Trump Should Do What He Can To Make The ACA Work. “A large share of Americans (78 percent) think President Trump and his administration should do what they can to make the current health care law work while few (17 percent) say they should do what they can to make the law fail so they can replace it later. About half of Republicans and supporters of President Trump say the Trump administration should do what they can to make the law work (52 percent and 51 percent, respectively) while about four in ten say they should do what they can to make the law fail (40 percent and 39 percent, respectively).” [KFF, 8/11/17]