Written by Tanya Terry
On Tuesday, November 18, President Donald Trump told Republicans in Congress not to “waste” time restoring the Affordable Care Act (ACA) tax credits.
Meanwhile, 531,083 Michigan residents have been logging onto the ACA marketplace to find that their health plans are two times more expensive than they were last year. In all, more than 21 million Americans have been relying on ACA tax credits to help them pay for health insurance.
The Courier joined Protect Our Care Michigan with state officials and health care advocates who talked about what they feel is the importance of preserving the ACA healthcare program. They echoed the message that they have hope it’s not too late to do so.
There, Dianne Byrum stressed that last year more people relied on ACA credits than ever before.
“Around 390,000 Michiganders will lose their health coverage entirely -thanks to President Trump and Republicans in Congress, who voted to give tax breaks to billionaires by taking healthcare away from working Michiganders,” she said.
She also pointed out the funding for ACA Navigator Program had been slashed by nearly 90%, from $98 million to just $10 million.
Navigators are community-based organizations and the individuals within them that provide free assistance to members of the public to help them understand coverage options, enroll in Marketplace health insurance plans and/or apply for Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).
But, the Trump Administration stated the Navigator Program did not represent a “reasonable return on investment.”
Congresswoman Kristen McDonald Rivet (MI-8) shared that her office is receiving calls daily from “very frightened people who are worried they are going to lose their healthcare coverage”. She shared stories of people at her church who are over 60, but are not yet able to qualify for Medicare and had some health issues. So, they needed to retire early.
“Right now, BEFORE these cuts, 72% of their discretionary income was going to paying health insurance,” said McDonald Rivet. “Because of the loss of these tax credits, they are going to see their health insurance premiums rise by $11,000 next year. It’s not possible for them to be able to afford it.”
McDonald Rivet continued by saying Americans may soon see only the wealthy be able to afford preventative care, mammograms, coloscopies and well-baby checkups.
Jim Milanowski, president and CEO of Genesee Health Plan, said that for over 25 year the Genesee Health Plan has been assisting Genesee County residents by providing healthcare plans for the uninsured who don’t qualify for health insurance, as well as by helping people to enroll in federally funded programs such as the ACA, Medicaid and Medicare.
“These are things that were working for everyday people,” Milanowski stated.
Milanowksi said, however, when people are faced with enrolling into healthcare and paying a high cost, they would many times go without healthcare insurance.
“That’s not good for all of us,” he added. “Then, you have uncompensated care, and our rates for everybody keep going up, and up and up.”
Milanowksi noted that Genesee County residents could learn what options they still have by getting in contact with the Genesee Health Plan. The website for the plan is https://geneseehealthplan.org/. He also said all the health plan navigators can be found at https://www.healthcare.gov/, and he gave https://mi211.org/ as another valuable resource.
Amber Bellazaire, MLPP senior policy analyst, said that “extending the enhanced premium tax credits is a practical and bipartisan solution to keep healthcare in reach for those who need it the most.”
She expressed a fear that as premiums rise as dramatically as they are people “would have to make really hard decisions.”
“Some might downgrade to plans that have sky-high deductibles, and others will just go without insurance entirely,” she said. “And when people lose access to coverage, they face higher financial stress, they ration medication or they delay care-which often makes a manageable health issue become a crisis.”
Bellazaire urged anyone involved in the ACA Marketplace Plan who received a tax credit to go back to the Marketplace, update their information and ensure they are not auto re-enrolled in any plan. She said this would prevent the individual from being responsible for paying for a plan that is now being offered at a far different price point than before. She encouraged Michigan residents to instead “shop around” for the best plan.
Rep. Kristen McDonald Rivet has signed a discharge petition in the U.S. House of Representatives to force a floor vote on legislation that would extend the Affordable Care Act (ACA) enhanced premium tax credits. The discharge petition is a procedural tool used to bypass committee review and party leadership’s control over which bills reach the floor for a vote
McDonald Rivet said Michigan residents who are concerned about this issue have the ability to call on Congress and the White House to not strip health care away and a “responsibility” to “elevate the stories of how disastrous this is going to be for America.”
She stated: “Just don’t forget. It’s not too late. We have the ability to get this done before the end of the year. Congress can act to fix this, and we need to put as much pressure on it as we possibly can…”
