Today, Defend America Action released a new report, first published by Copper Courier, showing that Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress have made health care unaffordable for Arizonans, all to hand billionaires some of the biggest tax breaks in history. Since Trump and Republicans passed their health care cuts last year, over 192,000 Arizonans have lost Medicaid or CHIP coverage, and over 107,000 more have lost or dropped their ACA coverage.
Families who held on to their ACA coverage are paying dearly for it. Premiums rose an estimated average of nearly 140 percent this year for the roughly 300,000 Arizonans who buy insurance through the marketplace, and a 60-year-old Arizona couple earning $80,000 a year saw their monthly premium more than triple, an increase of $17,500 a year.
Trump and Republicans in Congress gutted Medicaid to pay for tax breaks for the wealthy, and Arizona hospitals are paying the price. The state stands to lose as much as $43 billion in federal Medicaid funding over the next decade, rural hospitals alone are set to lose $1.2 billion, and 19 Arizona hospitals and clinics are already closed, cutting services, or at risk of closure.
Arizona seniors are getting squeezed too. Trump’s health care cuts shielded nearly one-third of high-priced drugs from Medicare price negotiation, handing Big Pharma $8.8 billion over 10 years, while Medicare premiums rose to $202.90 a month this year. Now Trump is ending a Medicare Part D subsidy program that keeps seniors’ drug coverage affordable.
Arizona families are losing coverage and paying more for care while Trump and his billionaire buddies cash in.
A full copy of the report can be found here.
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