News · Press Release

REPORT: House Republicans Make American Medicine Expensive Again

A new report from the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation dives into the negative consequences of policies passed by House Republicans and implemented by the Trump administration that will raise health care costs for millions and saddle Americans with more medical debt.

In addition to estimates that the Big, Ugly Law will kick millions of Americans off their health care and raise health care costs, KFF Health News reported that House Republicans and Trump are enacting a number of cruel provisions that “risks pushing more Americans into debt, further straining family budgets already stressed by medical bills.”
The report highlighted the following cost-raising provisions:
  • Raising the costs of doctor visits by requiring copays of up to $35 for Medicaid enrollees.
  • Allowing the Affordable Care Act (ACA) tax credits to expire – leading to massive increases in monthly health care premiums.
  • More Americans will be pushed to switch to more expensive, higher-deductible plans, paying more out-of-pocket before their insurance kicks in.
  • Eliminating consumer protections preventing medical debt from negatively impacting individual credit reports.
  • “When families get stuck with medical debt, it hurts their credit scores, makes it harder to get a car, a home, or even a job… Medical debt wrecks people’s lives.”
REMINDER: Nonpartisan experts estimate that millions of Americans could lose access to their health care, hospitals are at risk of closing, and nursing homes could face staffing shortages as a result of Republicans’ Big, Ugly Law.

DCCC Spokesperson Viet Shelton:
“Another day, another broken promise by House Republicans. Not content with ripping health insurance from millions of Americans, Republicans are also falling in line behind policies that could saddle Americans with more debt, putting even more financial burden on family budgets already struggling to get by with the rising cost of food, groceries and housing.”

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