DeLauro, Advocates Call on Congress to Move Forward on Affordable Health Care

NEW HAVEN, CT (August 3, 2017 – Today, Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (CT-03) was joined by Jim Wadleigh, CEO of AccessHealth CT, and Ted Doolittle, Connecticut's Healthcare Advocate, to outline several measures that Congress should consider to strengthen the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and help ensure access to affordable health insurance and quality care for every American.

"Instead of pursuing a repeal, we ought to be working together in a bipartisan manner to reform the current system and fix the major problems that exist in health care. People are struggling with high costs." said DeLauro. "But we cannot leave the American people behind in the process. We need to bring down the cost of premiums and deductibles. We need to reduce the uncertainty and unpredictability in the insurance marketplaces by preserving the Cost-Sharing Reduction payments and creating a new reinsurance program. We also must bring down the price of prescription drugs, which are driving up insurance rates."

The proposals outlined by DeLauro addresses the most critical challenges facing the ACA, increasing premiums and high deductibles. The plan includes measures such as 1) eliminating unnecessary uncertainty in the insurance markets by ensuring that the Cost Sharing Reduction payments are continued; 2) creating a new reinsurance program for the individual market, modeled after the Medicare Part D reinsurance program; 3) reducing the price of prescription drugs by allowing HHS to negotiate drug prices and creating a national drug price review board to rein in excessive drug prices; 4) creating a public option within the exchanges to increase competition and ensure at least one option in every exchange; and 5) lowering the Medicare eligibility age from 65 to 55 to allow more Americans to buy into the program.

"Our main goal is to ensure that our customers continue to have access to affordable healthcare coverage," said Jim Wadleigh, CEO of Access Health CT. "Two important factors impacting the cost of coverage are the absence of a federal reinsurance program and uncertainty surrounding cost sharing reduction payments. Without the support of a permanent federal reinsurance program, and the current uncertainty about the funding for the cost sharing reductions, we run the risk of large rate increases and potential loss of carriers selling individual plans on the exchange. Both scenarios would be harmful to consumers and that's very concerning."

"I am deeply disturbed by the Trump Administration's attempts to sabotage the Affordable Care Act, a law they are entrusted to uphold." continued DeLauro. "Despite the narrative of "implosion," more than 10 million Americans signed up for coverage in the ACA Marketplaces in 2017. We can and should find common ground on healthcare—but we need to put the American people first in this process."

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