Campaign Action
Popular vote loser Donald Trump's Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price (you know, the really, really, corrupt one) has the job of every cabinet member—following and implementing existing law to the best of his ability. But Price wasn't nominated—or confirmed by Republicans only—to do that. He's there to do everything in his power to undermine one law—the Affordable Care Act. This week, the Wall Street Journal gave him a place to do that.
This year more than 1,000 counties had only one insurer in the ObamaCare market, meaning millions of Americans had no meaningful choice. Meanwhile, the insurers that did stay in the market increased premiums for their midlevel plans by an average of 25%. Premiums on the individual market are up about $3,000 since ObamaCare was implemented. Think about what else that money could buy!
It is too early to know how much premiums will rise next year, but reports so far indicate that double-digit increases again will be the norm.
Here's the thing. If he were a real HHS Secretary and not a cartoon villain one, he would be working with existing law to fix those things. He'd be working with Congress to make changes to the law. Of course, that would mean having an actual Congress and not a cartoon villain one. But instead, he's here undermining this law and pushing Trumpcare, the bill that would force 15 million people out of healthcare coverage next year, alone, and 22 million over the next 10 years. That's some public health strategy, huh.
We delayed Trumpcare—for now. But the GOP leadership is hell-bent on denying health insurance, and is working hard to coerce Republican senators. We need three Republicans to stand firm. Call your senator at (202) 224-3121 and tell them “NO DEAL.” Then, tell us how it went.
He does this, deplorably, using real people:
One of them is Doug Lake, an Iowa radiologist who came to the White House last week to share his story. His daughter, who suffers from a rare cardiac condition, is covered by an insurer that plans to pull out of ObamaCare’s exchange in their state next year. Only one insurer remains in their county, and that company has requested a 43% increase in premiums.
Guess what, Doug? The insurance plans you could get for your family under Trumpcare will label your daughter with a pre-existing condition and make treatments that she requires prohibitively expensive. They'll probably cap how much they'll spend in her lifetime to keep her alive, and chances are it won't be enough. Did anyone at the White House tell you that? Did Secretary Price, himself a physician? No, because you were there as a prop.