Washington D.C. – New public polling shows the cost of health care is now the #1 economic concern for Americans. The survey comes after the Republican-led Congress ripped Affordable Care Act’s tax credits away leaving 202,916 Coloradans on the state ACA marketplace to pay, on average, $769 more annually for health coverage — while 63,000 priced-out Coloradans will lose their health care coverage entirely this year.
Despite the well-known consequences of allowing the ACA tax credits to expire amid a worsening Trump-GOP affordability crisis, U.S. Reps. Gabe Evans (R-CO-8), Jeff Crank (R-CO-5) and Lauren Boebert (R-CO-4) all voted against extending these cost-and-life-saving tax credits after voting to give another trillion dollar tax break to billionaires and price-gouging corporations.
Because of these lawmakers’ billionaires-first, families-last decisions, premiums in Colorado are increasing by an average of 137 percent this year, forcing families to pay more for worse coverage or go without health insurance entirely.
As ACA open enrollment ended for the last remaining states last week, over a million Americans have already dropped their ACA coverage — a number that will continue to snowball as more families, month after month, are unable to bear the cost of Trump-GOP premium hikes. So far, nearly 4,500 fewer Colorado patients are enrolled in the exchange this year compared to last.
“Colorado families watching every dime to put food on the table and keep a roof over their head do not need $769 in extra health care costs. But unfortunately, Republican lawmakers like Reps. Boebert, Crank and Evans thought billionaires like Elon Musk needed another tax break more,” said Brad Woodhouse, President of Save My Care. “These Republicans choose to make the Trump unaffordability crisis worse to pad corporate profits, and now many in Colorado may have no choice to enroll in low-quality health plans that fall short when they’re needed most — or go without coverage entirely. The Trump-GOP billionaire tax giveaway that never trickles down to working people was simply not worth the cost of the Trump-GOP premium hike.”
BACKGROUND: The Trump-GOP Health Care Cuts By the Numbers in Colorado:
- 202,916 Coloradans on the state ACA marketplace are now forced to pay an average of $769 more annually for health coverage.
- Colorado are increasing by an average of 137 percent this year. Thanks to GOP premium hikes, 63,000 Coloradans will lose their health care coverage entirely this year, including small business owners, farmers, and older adults.
- A 45-year-old in Colorado making $64,000 will see their average annual premium costs rise by $2,112 to hit $7,552 this year.
- A 60-year-old couple in Colorado making $85,000 will see their average annual premium costs rise by $21,164 to hit $28,389 this year.
- A family of four in Colorado making $130,000 will see their average annual premium costs rise by $10,320 to hit $21,370 this year.
- Hospitals and clinics across Colorado are already folding under the weight of GOP cuts to Medicaid. Now, thanks to Republicans gutting the premium tax credits and hiking Coloradans’ premiums, providers in Colorado will lose an additional $145 million in funding.
Nationally:
As open enrollment ends, GOP premium hikes are:
- Putting health care out of reach for over 1 million Americans compared to the end of open enrollment last year, all to give tax breaks to billionaires and corporations.
- Doubling and tripling premiums for 22 million hardworking Americans, including small business owners, farmers, and older adults.
- Forcing middle-class families to pay $20 billion in higher health care costs in 2026, while CEOs and yacht owners pocket $120 billion in tax breaks from the GOP tax scam in 2026.
- Forcing an estimated one in three Americans who buy health care on their own to reduce their coverage and pay thousands more each year in health care costs.
- Pressuring countless families to cut back on food, clothing, and other basics to afford health insurance and greater out-of-pocket costs.
This spring, the full scale of the Trump-GOP premium disaster will become clear as:
- Families are forced to choose between groceries and paying their premiums and realize they can no longer afford health care if they want to keep food on the table.
- Millions of Americans who were auto–reenrolled are kicked off their coverage when they get health care bills two to three times higher and cannot afford to pay them.
- Huge declines in effectuated enrollment are reported after families are unable to stretch their budgets to cover both GOP health care hikes and the cost of Trump tariffs.
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