Welch Joined Wyden and health care advocates for a press conference on lowering health care costs
WASHINGTON, D.C. – In remarks from the Senate floor tonight, U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.), a member of the Senate Finance Committee, raised the alarm about the need to extend the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) premium tax credits ahead of the start of Open Enrollment on Saturday, November 1. Senator Welch highlighted concerns shared by Vermonters and urged Republicans to negotiate with Democrats, reopen the government, and help prevent millions of Americans from losing their health care.
“Folks across the country are going to get some bad news: without the tax credits that are in place now and are set to expire by the end of the year, their health care premiums are going to double, triple, and in some cases quadruple—and even worse,” said Senator Welch. “We’ve been having this debate about a shutdown. But what we haven’t been having is a negotiation about how to protect families from a rate shock that they can’t afford. It means they’re really going to lose health care.
“I urge us, and I urge the President, to act aggressively to resolve this. It will help folks whether they are in a red state, a blue state, whether they identify as a Republican, or a Democrat, or an Independent. It just doesn’t matter. But we’ve got a health care system that is too, too expensive, beyond reach, and is crippling to our small businesses, our farmers, and our families.”
Watch Senator Welch’s speech below:
When Open Enrollment begins on Saturday, 24 million Americans across the country will try to shop for health insurance that they can no longer afford. Without the ACA tax credits, a Vermont family of four making $130,000 a year that currently pays $1,195 a month for a baseline health care plan can expect to pay $3,035 a month for that same plan—a $22,080 annual increase. A Vermont family of four making about $64,000 a year will pay 920% more.
On Wednesday afternoon, Senator Welch joined Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Protect Our Care, and a patient advocate for a press conference on the importance of extending ACA tax credits and lowering health care costs.
“This is not a red-state, blue-state deal. This is not a Republican, Democratic deal. This is about families. It’s about small businesses. It’s about farmers wanting to have some minimal level of confidence that if they get sick, they’ll be able to get care. If they get sick, they won’t go broke. And we’ve got a bad health care system in this country. A lot of places you can get the best quality care, but we spend the most and get the least, and this will make what is already an expensive system—and a creaking system—much worse,” said Senator Welch at the press conference.
This Congress, Senator Welch has led the introduction of several bills to make health care more accessible and affordable for Vermonters, including the Strengthening Medicare and Reducing Taxpayer (SMART) Prices Act, Fair Prescription Drug Prices for Americans Act, End Price Gouging for Medications Act, Creating Opportunities Now for Necessary and Effective Care Technologies (CONNECT) for Health Act, Protecting Pharmacies in Medicaid Act, Fair Funding for Rural Hospitals Act, and the Rural Hospital Support Act.
Senator Welch’s office will remain open throughout the shutdown to help Vermonters. Resources can be found on the Senator’s website or by calling 802-863-2525. Learn more about Senator Welch’s work by visiting his website or by following him on social media.
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