A patient goes to a physical therapy session at Lake Charles Memorial Hospital in Lake Charles, LA. Without action by Congress, the more than 7 million people who purchase health insurance through Affordable Care Act platforms will pay significantly higher premiums next year. (Photo: Mario Tama/Getty Images)
Ohio congressional Democrats say they continue to fight to preserve health care for Ohioans amid a government shutdown and gridlock on Capitol Hill.
The weeks-long government shutdown shows no sign of ending as Republicans and Democrats blame each other for the lack of an agreement.
At a news conference with the Ohio advocacy group Protect Our Care, U.S. Reps. Marcy Kaptur, Shontel Brown and Greg Landsman said they and their Democratic colleagues are willing to meet with Republicans to address their concerns, specifically returning Americans to the Affordable Care Act’s premium tax credits, which will expire on end of the year.
“We would like to reopen the government, get an ironclad agreement to cancel cuts (ACA), lower costs and save our health care,” Brown said.
The expiration of these tax breaks could cause out-of-pocket premium payments to “more than double,” he says KFF research group. The group also reported that insurers in the ACA market are publishing proposals to enhance rates by an average of 18%.
Landsman said that if the subsidies are not extended, health care costs for 32,000 of his southwest Ohio constituents will skyrocket and 14,000 will lose health care altogether.
“It doesn’t make much sense to us why it has to be a fight,” he said.
Kaptur defended Democrats against arguments that the minority party is holding back the government from reopening just because they won’t budge on extending health care tax credits.
“(Republicans) believe that people should pay 20% or more than they already pay, sometimes as much as $1,500 a month more for the insurance they receive, and we say we disagree with that,” Kaptur said. “We think this is a very bad idea.”
She said Ohio in particular would be hit tough by changes to the ACA, comparing the impact to states like Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.
“We’re going to be hit as hard as they are, and that’s because federal support for health insurance is critical because Ohio isn’t doing as much as it can,” Kaptur told reporters.
Representatives at the press call said they will continue to fight to extend the ACA, as do supporters and one Ohioan who must decide whether he can afford health insurance if the subsidies expire.
Justin Carter, a 27-year-old Columbus resident, obtained insurance through Marketplace after his dad’s insurance plan expired. He is a former college athlete who works for a local nonprofit and says he still goes to the gym four to five days a week.
“I came to the conclusion that without it, I would always be one injury away from having massive medical debt,” Carter said.
But with discussions ongoing at the federal level, Carter said he must seriously consider whether he can afford to maintain health care in the future.
“In the future, with these changes being implemented, I will have to reconsider whether I should have insurance and whether it is even affordable for me,” Carter said.
Although employees of TruPartner Credit Union in Cincinnati do not directly benefit from tax breaks, the company does benefit from the so-called Individual health care reimbursement agreementwhich allows the company to pay stipends to employees for health care. The stipend can then be used by employees under the health insurance plan of their choice on the ACA Marketplace.
The credit union employs about 50 people, and president and CEO Nina Myers, as a petite staff, said group plans are complex to find.
“We saw people struggling if they couldn’t afford health insurance,” Myers said. “They’re doing without, and that’s impacting our business in terms of productivity and employee absences when they’re sick.”
Myers said the company’s broker expects national increases to be about 21% and state increases to be about 19%, given potentially increased insurance rates as a result of changes to the ACA.
“We will be forced to determine how much of that we can absorb and how much of that we will have to pass on to our staff to cover future health care costs,” Myers said.
Congressional officials believe the only solution is pressure from the top, from Americans hurt by the government shutdown and those who stand to lose or pay more for health insurance. Without White House approval, they don’t see the GOP making any significant moves.
“I think President (Donald) Trump needs to step in and bring the executives to the White House and sit there and solve the problem,” Kaptur said. “Find a way to find the money to make insurance affordable for Americans.”
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