OLYMPIA, Wash. —Multiple members of Washington state’s congressional delegation are suggesting that premiums are set to double for most people who buy from the state health exchange, unless the enhanced premium tax credit is continued in the spending bills.
In what appeared to be a coordinated release, Senators Maria Cantwell, Patty Murray, and Congresswoman Suzan DelBene all said a new analysis showed “skyrocketing” increases.
“When they see the premium increases. It’s double-digit increases,” said DelBene in an interview.
According to Cantwell, nearly 1 in 30 people who buy their own insurance will see the premium hike, with the biggest percentage of impacted people in San Juan County.
While ongoing government shutdown has caused multiple impacts, Democrats appear to be seizing on the issue, given that open enrollment starts for many people on Nov. 1.
Cantwell’s office said, for example, people who buy from the exchange will see a 96% increase.
Washingtonian Michael Bitz was just leaving an appointment at Providence Swedish Medical Center in Everett when he was informed about the potential increases.
He called it his number one concern. “It isn’t something that’s going down. It always seems to be increasing at various rates, and at the same time, our wages aren’t moving,” Blitz said.Republican Congressman Michael Baumgartner, of Spokane, has been having open meetings to get feedback on the shutdown, and said earlier this week, “Healthcare is a major part of what we spend the government’s budget on. It is 20% of the American economy. There’s always time for discussions on healthcare, but we’re not going to do it as part of a quid pro quo for any government shutdown.”
트위터 공유: 워싱턴 의료보험료 하늘 향해 솟아오른다