Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Joe Donnelly released the following statement today in response to a new study from the independent Urban Institute showing the harm that continued sabotage efforts by the Administration are having on health care premiums in Indiana and across the country. According to the study, Indiana’s health care premiums in the individual market are projected to rise 19.6% in 2019 due to policy changes including the tax law, which raises health care costs for families, and the recently announced short-term insurance plans. The study also notes these policy changes, along with the Administration’s decision to end cost-sharing reduction payments and reduce advertising and enrollment efforts, will lead to a total of 702,000 uninsured Hoosiers in 2019, which is 220,000 more, or 45.6% higher, than it would be without these changes.
Donnelly said, “As this independent study shows, continued efforts by the Administration to undermine our health care system are projected to result in double-digit premium hikes for Hoosier families. I continue to urge the Administration to work on efforts that will make health care more affordable instead of maintaining this destructive path.”
Donnelly has repeatedly urged the Administration to commit to providing stability to health insurance markets and working together on bipartisan solutions to reduce health care costs, expand access to care, and strengthen the health care system. That continued last week when the Administration proposed short-term insurance plans which allow for discrimination based on pre-existing condition, allows consumers to be charged more when sick, and are not required to cover essential health care benefits including emergency services or preventative care.
Last fall, Donnelly participated in bipartisan negotiations and listening sessions with health care experts that led to legislation that sought to stabilize health care markets. The bill Donnelly supported that was introduced by Senators Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and Patty Murray (D-WA) would fund cost-sharing reduction payments (CSR), which help lower consumers’ deductibles and co-pays, for two years.
Donnelly’s efforts came after repeated actions by the Administration to undermine the health care system, which resulted in premiums rising by an average of 20 percent for Hoosiers on the individual health care marketplace. In particular, several insurance companies that offer coverage to Hoosiers, including two that left the market, cited uncertainty as it relates to the Administration’s refusal to commit to making CSR payments, as a key reason for increasing prices or leaving the market. CareSource, for example, told Donnelly several months ago in a letter, “If there was certainty that CSR payments would be made, we estimate that there would be a 2.2% rate increase, in aggregate, from our 2017 to 2018 rates.”