WASHINGTON D.C. — Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy who is a member of the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee released a statement on Friday after President Trump announced he wants to end cost sharing payments for health insurance. Murphy says it will drive up costs for healthcare.
He released a statement on the matter:
“Let’s call this what it is—the president is intentionally hurting every American because he’s having a temper tantrum over Republicans’ unwillingness to repeal the Affordable Care Act. Families in Connecticut will see their health care costs skyrocket because Donald Trump is having a bad week. This shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone in Congress, and it’s why many of us have been racing to come up with a bipartisan health care bill to prevent this exact sort of blatant sabotage. We need to pass it ASAP. If Republicans reject commonsense bipartisan compromise, they will own every scrap of what’s left of the American health care system when Donald Trump is through with it.”
Murphy goes on to say that the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates that President Trump’s actions will increase health insurance costs by 20% in 2018 and up to 25% in 2020.
The CBO said that eliminating cost sharing payments, the national debt will be increased to $194 billion by 2026 due to higher premiums the government will hae to pay.
Murphy says insurance companies have confirmed that eliminating the cost sharing payments will account for a 17% increase in costs for Connecticut families.
Murphy has been vocal in his criticism of the Trump administration for systematically attempting to sabotage the health care system, including issuing an executive order stripping away health care protections, defunding advertisements ahead of open enrollment, shutting down Healthcare.gov for periods of time during open enrollment, and rolling back the federal requirement that health insurance plans cover birth control.