The Affordable Care Act Open Enrollment Period Ended January 15, locking in higher premiums for millions of Americans this year unless the Senate acts
Watch the full event here
WISCONSIN – Today, U.S. Representative Mark Pocan and Wisconsin small business owner Kyle LaFond joined Protect Our Care Wisconsin and Main Street Alliance to hold Republicans in Congress accountable for doubling, tripling, and even quadrupling the premiums of thousands of Wisconsinites by ending the Affordable Care Act (ACA) tax credits that keep coverage affordable for millions of hard-working families.
Instead, Donald Trump and Congressional Republicans have prioritized giving more tax breaks to billionaires and big corporations at the expense of the well-being of Americans. Speakers called on the U.S. Senate to pass the clean, three year extension of the ACA premium tax credits that recently passed the U.S. House of Representatives and spoke to the impact higher costs are already having on families and businesses across the Badger State.
This new year brings a health care catastrophe unlike anything this nation has ever seen. Hard-working families will be sent into crippling medical debt, emptying out their savings just to see a doctor. Others will be forced to live without the life-saving coverage they need. Health care is not a privilege reserved for the wealthiest, and Wisconsinites across the political spectrum want affordable, quality health care. Speakers discussed the consequences of eliminating the tax credits and what this means for the future of public health.
“We need to put pressure on the Senate to pass it cleanly, just like we did in the House, a three year extension. It’s the right thing to do,” said Congressman Pocan. “Look, in ten years of Donald Trump’s promises, the best we’ve gotten is concepts of a health care plan. Last week we got one page. Literally one side of a page of paper with more concepts and no concrete plans about how to address health care. We need to keep the Affordable Care Act in place, and the only way to keep it in place and affordable for small business owners and others is by having those tax credits.”
“I’ve seen my own personal premium almost double this year,” said small business owner Kyle LaFond. “I can’t imagine if I was a working family with two, three, or four kids, relying on tax credits how much my premiums would (have) increased. I personally know other business owners who have just decided to go without health care insurance this year. That’s a shame.”
You can watch the full event here, and learn more about the Trump-GOP health care disaster here.
