Rep. Venkat: “What we are seeing from Donald Trump’s health care cuts is catastrophic. There’s no other word to describe it.”
WASHINGTON, DC — Today, Defend America Action is releasing a new report highlighting the devastating health care crisis Donald Trump and Republicans have created for Pennsylvanians. After Republicans killed the Affordable Care Act’s enhanced premium tax credits, premiums rose an average of 102% for 420,000 Pennsylvanians, with 100,000 losing coverage entirely. The GOP’s $1 trillion in Medicaid cuts will push an estimated 340,000 more off their coverage, and 23 Pennsylvania hospitals and clinics are either closing, cutting services, or at risk of closure.
Defend America Action also hosted a press call this morning with former Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, Pennsylvania State Representatives Justin Fleming and Arvind Venkat, MD, as well as Protect Our Care Pennsylvania’s Michael Berman, to discuss Trump’s health care crisis and its consequences for Pennsylvanians.
“What we are seeing from Donald Trump’s health care cuts is catastrophic. There’s no other word to describe it,” said State Representative Arvind Venkat, MD. “Here in Pennsylvania, as a result of the expiration of the Affordable Care Act enhanced premium tax credits, we’ve seen a 130,000 confirmed increase in the number of uninsured who simply dropped their health insurance as a result of not being able to afford the premiums.”
“Many hospitals are incredibly dependent on Medicaid and Affordable Care Act coverage to keep their doors open. We are already hearing across the nation that hospitals are making really tough choices,” said former CMS Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure. “This was not inevitable. $1 trillion being taken out of the health care system was a choice that was made by President Trump and Republicans in Congress.”
“One of the things we hold most dear is our ability to make sure that we are providing health insurance for kids. Obamacare was such a key piece of that,” said State Representative Justin Fleming. “The number is now 100,000 Pennsylvanians who did not renew their health care on the Pennsylvania state exchange because of Congress’s action to get rid of the subsidies.”
“People made choices in the election, and a lot of people regret those choices now, because we’ve elected a group of leaders who are choosing to cut health care in order to pay for tax breaks for wealthy Americans, in order to pay for wars that we don’t need, and in order to line their own pockets.” said Protect Our Care Pennsylvania’s Michael Berman.
A recording of the press call is available here. Defend America Action’s new Pennsylvania health care report is available here.
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