Arguments over who is to blame for double-digit price increases in Obamacare are heating up between Republicans and Democrats.
Democrats have seized on the rate increases as evidence that the Trump administration and Republicans are trying to “sabotage” Obamacare. Republicans, meanwhile, say they tried to pass a law that was initially bipartisan and would have lowered premiums, but were blocked by Democrats.
Republicans presented the legislation during the long-term spending deal passed in March, but attached language to it that would have prohibited tax dollars from paying for plans that cover abortions. Democrats refused to back the legislation and the measure failed.
Sen. Patty Murray, who is the top Democrat on the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, drew attention to proposed premium increases in Washington state, which she represents, of 19 percent, and blamed Republicans for blocking the bipartisan bill.
“We could have passed it and sent it to President Trump’s desk if only Republican leaders hadn’t blocked our efforts at every turn — and we still should,” she said.
She pointed to various factors that insurers have said are responsible for higher increases, including the Republican tax law that repeals the individual mandate fine beginning in 2019 and the Trump administration’s plan to offer cheaper health insurance that will not include Obamacare’s consumer protections. Critics say both of those moves would cause healthier people to leave Obamacare plans and raise prices for sicker people left behind.
Murray then said that Democrats were willing to pass a bill that would curb premiums. Aides from both sides have told the Washington Examiner in recent months that language restricting access to abortion places them at an impasse.
In a meeting with reporters Tuesday, Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., suggested that Democrats blocked the bill from becoming law so they could use it as a political chip ahead of the election.
“It seems Senate Democrats put partisan politics ahead of lowering premiums for families,” Cassidy said in a statement issued later. “I’d love to see a bipartisan solution to lower healthcare costs, but let’s be clear: just a few months ago, Ranking Member Murray killed a bipartisan bill called ‘Alexander-Murray’ that would have lowered premiums by 40 percent. That’s right — she opposed her own bill.”
The rate increases for 2019 that have been released in a handful of states are proposed, but final prices will be announced just ahead of the November midterm elections, and some states are expected to report increases in the double digits. Still, how much customers pay for coverage will vary depending on their age, smoking status, where they live, and whether their income is low enough to qualify them for government subsidies that make coverage less expensive or even free.
The rates have been increasing by double digits since former President Barack Obama’s last year in office, and then increased during Trump’s first year, when health insurers weren’t sure whether Republicans would repeal the law and when the president ended cost-sharing reduction payments.
Cassidy pointed to previous increases in premiums. Each year they rose, particularly because fewer people signed up for the Obamacare plans than expected.
“Pretending big premium increases are something new instead of more of what we’ve seen year after year under Obamacare ignores the facts,” Cassidy said. “The numbers speak for themselves.”
