Washington Republicans Are Shutting Down Our Health Care

This week, Washington Republicans were presented with a simple choice: keep health care affordable and the government open, or shut down the government and finalize their cuts to the health care system. 

They chose cuts. They chose higher costs. And ultimately, they chose a shutdown– not only of the government, but of our health care. 

Republicans own Washington right now– the White House, Congress, even the Supreme Court. And what they’ve done with that power is reckless at best, cruel at worst. 

This summer, Trump and Congressional Republicans cut over a trillion dollars from the health care system. They refused to extend tax credits to help working families afford care. They made cuts to behavioral health and suicide prevention programs. And they stripped away funding from rural health care, putting over 700 rural hospitals at risk of closing. 

We’re all going to feel these cuts in one way or another. For many of us, it’s going to hurt financially. Health care premiums on the ACA marketplace– which about 1 million North Carolinians use to purchase their health insurance– are going to spike. The initial ACA plans shown by NC insurers show rate increases of 27% at the lowest, 36% at the highest. For some Americans, their out-of-pocket premiums could double. 

For others, the pain will be physical. Hundreds of thousands of North Carolinians could lose their health insurance, forcing them to choose between going into debt or getting the care they need. Many will forgo care altogether, skipping necessary doctor’s appointments, choosing not to refill prescriptions. Simply put, more people are going to opt for getting sick rather than burdening their family with generational debt. 

Shutting down the government is far from ideal, but Washington Republicans shutting down our health care system is intolerable. 

You can’t cut a trillion dollars from the health care system and expect people’s lives to remain the same. 

You can’t eliminate tax credits and expect folks to have more money in their pockets. 

You can’t close hospitals and expect people to remain healthy. 

You can’t fund a reckless regime and expect our lives to improve.