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Trump’s Health Care Sabotage Threat Would Have Devastating Impact Here PDF Print E-mail
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Written by Citizen Action of Wisconsin, Robert Kraig   
Saturday, 15 April 2017 16:06

veteran-olderAfter the Republican 'Repeal and Replace' effort died, President Trump threatened to use the health coverage of millions of Americans as political leverage against Congressional Democrats. That effort could raise health insurance premiums by 17% in Wisconsin.


WISCONSIN - Immediately after the implosion of House Speaker Paul Ryan’s health care replacement plan in late March, Citizen Action of Wisconsin warned the Trump Administration may turn to deliberate sabotage. This became a clear and present danger Wednesday when President Donald Trump threatened to use the health coverage of millions of Americans as political leverage against Congressional Democrats.

In an interview in the Wall Street Journal, Trump threatened to stop paying insurers cost-sharing-reduction payments that reduce deductibles, co-pays, and out-of-pocket maximums for moderate income enrollees. The House filed suit two years ago against the Obama Administration claiming that the money had not been appropriated by Congress. The Trump Administration could end the payments by not defending the lawsuit, which has another hearing scheduled for May 22.

Cost-sharing-reduction payments total to $7 billion dollars in 2017, which amounts to $1,136 per beneficiary. But the impact could be much larger than that. Health care experts believe removing the payments would dramatically increase premiums, copays, and deductibles, pricing moderate income people out of the market. It also could spur insurers to flee the market altogether, denying coverage to millions of enrollees.

According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, the removal of cost sharing reduction payments would raise health insurance premiums by 17% in Wisconsin. Below is a chart of how many Wisconsin enrollees receive cost-sharing-reduction payments by county. These moderate income Wisconsinites would see their cost sharing rise dramatically if President Trump follows through on his threat.

Wisconsin County-by-County Impact


Consumers Receiving Cost Sharing Reductions

Total Enrollment, 2016

STATEWIDE*

124,376 residents

242,863 residents

Brown County

5,365

10,489

Dane County

8,949

16,581

Douglas County

890

1,620

Eau Claire County

2,248

4,246

Fond du Lac County

1,868

3,663

Kenosha County

3,899

6,486

La Crosse County

2,030

4,154

Manitowoc County

1,942

3,770

Marathon County

3,526

6,525

Milwaukee County

23,134

38,242

Oneida County

1,371

2,699

Outagamie County

3,732

7,223

Racine County

4,100

7,151

Rock County

2,996

5,007

Sheboygan County

2,301

4,564

St. Croix County

1,642

3,399

Waukesha County

6,503

14,347

Winnebago County

3,601

6,401

Source: 2016 Marketplace Health Plan Selections by County, CMS, March 2017

* - Statewide data, 2017 Marketplace Open Enrollment Period Public Use Files, CMS July 2016

robert-kraig“With conservatives in charge of the government they have a solemn moral obligation to uphold the laws of the land and to protect the welfare of the American people,” said Robert Kraig, Executive Director of Citizen Action of Wisconsin. “It is stunning that conservative politicians are so bent on getting their way that they are willing to play politics with the lives of their own constituents by throwing sand into the gears of the American health care system.”

****

Find out more on Citizen Action of Wisconsin HERE.

Last Updated on Monday, 17 April 2017 16:36
 
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