Typical family of four in Vermont making $130,000 will face a $22,000 spike in annual health care premiums if Republicans refuse to extend ACA subsidies
WASHINGTON, D.C. – On the Senate floor, U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.), a member of the Senate Finance Committee, called on Republicans to come to the table and negotiate in good faith with Democrats to reopen the government and rescue hardworking Americans who rely on Affordable Care Act (ACA) tax credits to afford their health care. In his remarks, Senator Welch emphasized the urgency of extending the ACA subsidies, which help nearly 27,000 low- and moderate-income Vermonters access health coverage through the ACA marketplace.
“The question I have is: why don’t we, all of us—Republicans and Democrats—who care deeply about the people we represent really come to their rescue by acting, and acting now? There is absolutely no excuse for us to delay. This is the urgency of now. And I stand before you, Mr. President, knowing that right now, in my state of Vermont—from Bennington to Derby Line, from Brattleboro to Swanton—people are going to their mailbox and fainting as they get the news of these rate shocks,” said Senator Welch.
“It’s not right. But, most importantly for us, it’s not necessary, because we—the United States Senate—have the power to act and to be fair to the folks who are working hard in all of our states, and are entitled to have some confidence that the health care that they have this year they’ll continue to be able to afford next year.”
Watch Senator Welch’s speech below:
If Republicans refuse to work with Democrats and extend these discounted premiums, the tax credits will expire on December 31, 2025, resulting in rate increases and pushing affordable health care out of reach for millions of Americans.
Read key excerpts from Senator Welch’s remarks:
“We’re going into day 15 of the shutdown. No one likes shutdowns…I don’t like shutdowns. But some things are worth fighting for. Some things we must fight for, and one of the things that is most essential to the well-being of the people we represent—whether it is a Republican state or Democratic state—is access to affordable health care. And we have a date that is looming: November 1st where people are going to be getting—across this country—notifications about how much of an increase they will have to pay if they are getting tax support; tax credits for them to buy their own insurance in the private marketplace. That is the urgency of the moment and why we must resolve this now. We must resolve this now.”
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“All of us who have the authority of being in the United States Senate, and representing the people who sent us here, should not allow that rate premium shock to crush that family. By the way, this is not just this family in Vermont. This is families all across our country. You know, if these tax premiums, these tax credits expire—and that’s what they do—then we are going to see nearly 5 million people across this country, in your state and mine, lose their coverage. 24 million Americans will face higher costs.
“That includes about 17 million people in states that voted for President Trump—families in red states are going to see significant premium increases. But, you know, this is not about red state, blue state for me. This is about American families, American small businesses, and whether they can have access to affordable health care.”
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.
Learn more about his work by visiting his website or by following him on social media.
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