Washington D.C. – A new national YouGov/CBS poll found a staggering 40 percent of voters say the Trump-GOP Big Ugly Bill passed last year has “hurt” them or their family, while 21 percent say they’ve seen no benefit at all. The survey comes as NBC News reports that insurance costs are poised to spike again next year for most Americans after Trump and Republicans like Monica De La Cruz (R-TX-15) robbed $1 trillion from Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act (ACA) to pay for tax breaks for billionaires and big corporations.
Brad Woodhouse, President of Save My Care: “So many families are worse off than they were before Trump-De La Cruz Big Ugly Bill dug its claws into the economy. Since Republicans ripped away tax credits from working families, millions have seen their monthly premiums jump by hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars – and millions have been forced to drop coverage altogether. Gas, food and housing are all more expensive than the year before, and we already know health premiums will be even worse next year. Trump and his accomplices in Congress like Rep. De La Cruz hatched a raw deal: a full-blown affordability crisis for working people in exchange for more tax breaks for billionaires and big corporations. It’s no mystery why so many voters see the Big Ugly law as a punch in the gut, and why Rep. De La Cruz desperately wants Texas families to forget who brought the pain.”
KEY REASONS WHY 40% OF VOTERS SAY THE BIG UGLY LAW “HURT” THEM AND THEIR FAMILIES:
Monica De La Cruz claimed that the bill she voted for “protects Medicaid for vulnerable Americans,” but the reality is:
- An estimated 367,270 Texans have already lost their Medicaid, CHIP, or ACA coverage after Monica De La Cruz and Republicans gutted health care.
- 4 million Texans in total are anticipated to become uninsured between 2025 and 2034.
- Tens of thousands of Texans living in Monica De La Cruz’s district were receiving tax credits to make their health care more affordable. Now premiums for Texans receiving ACA tax credits increased by an average of 289% this year:
- A 45-year-old in Texas making $64,000 saw their average annual premium costs rise by $3,522 to hit $8,962 this year.
- A 60-year-old couple in Texas making $85,000 saw their average annual premium costs rise by $26,464 to hit $33,689 this year.
- A family of four in Texas making $130,000 saw their average annual premium costs rise by $14,310 to hit $25,360 this year.
TEXAS HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS AT RISK
- Now, thanks to Republicans gutting the premium tax credits and hiking Texans’ premiums, providers in Texas will lose an additional $10.2 billion in funding and face a massive 22.4% spike in uncompensated care demand.
- Texas hospitals alone are expected to lose $20.6 billion over the next decade. Seven health care facilities in the South Texas area are at-risk, announced cuts, or have already closed:
- AT-RISK: Memorial Medical Center
- AT-RISK: El Campo Memorial Hospital
- AT-RISK: Palacios Community Medical Center
- AT-RISK: Ascension Seton Smithville
- CUTS ANNOUNCED: Laurel Ridge Treatment Center
- CLOSED: WellMed at Kingsville
- CLOSED: Raymondville Independent School District (ISD) Health Clinic
VOICES FROM SOUTH TEXAS
Inger from Encino: “‘I’m terrified that I’ll start a plan of treatment but won’t be able to afford to keep up with it.’ [Inger] Perez said she is also frustrated by the quality of the care she receives, in part because she lives in a rural area about an hour from a doctor’s office. To fit her budget, she had to choose a lower-cost Affordable Care Act marketplace plan with a limited network of covered providers, creating another obstacle to finding good care.”
Laura from San Antonio: “When Congress allowed those enhanced credits to expire at the end of last year, the couple’s premiums skyrocketed — to nearly $3,000. ‘We would have had to take out a small business loan to pay for the policy,’ said Laura Humphries, who works as a graphic designer…‘The amount of time that I’ve had to put into this this year, that would have been a very nice job to have been paid for,’ Laura Humphries said. ‘You get sent through a labyrinth of people with no real resolution when you finally get off the call. We feel like ping-pong balls sometimes.’ ‘I honestly don’t know what my daughter and I are going to do,’ Laura added. ‘It’s very stressful.’”
PREVIOUS FROM SAVE MY CARE:
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