Led by Sen. Murray, Senate Health Committee Releases ‘A Manufactured Crisis: Trump Administration and Republican Sabotage of the Health Care System’

WASHINGTON, June 28 -- The office of Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., issued the following news release:

Today, Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), top Democrat on the Senate health committee, and Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), top Democrat of the House committee that oversees the insurance industry, released a joint staff report on the Trump Administration and Congressional Republicans' intentional sabotage of the individual insurance markets to justify passage of Trumpcare.

The report outlines the efforts by the Trump Administration and Congressional Republicans to create vast uncertainty in the marketplace, including failure to commit to cost-sharing reduction (CSR) payments and unclear direction about enforcement of the individual mandate. These actions have created an artificial crisis in the marketplace, prompting insurers to sharply increase premiums for the upcoming plan year and reduce consumer choice, in Washington state and across the country.

"President Trump and Congressional Republicans are manufacturing instability in the marketplace as a false pretense for passing a major tax cut for the wealthy and special interests," the report notes. "This cynical effort is being paid for with draconian cuts to the health care system, and on the backs of millions who need access to affordable coverage. Both President Trump and Congressional Republicans should be held responsible for these cynical and destructive actions."

In defending Republicans' attempts to jam Trumpcare through Congress, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell recently said, "Doing nothing is not an option." Yet independent experts agree that the individual market would be stable if not for the Trump Administration's sabotage.

The report provides an overview of the coordinated sabotage efforts and the impact this is having on premiums and the stability of the health insurance marketplaces.

"Republicans are undertaking concerted efforts to sabotage the health care system by introducing instability into the individual insurance market," the report continues. "By choosing not to make CSR payments, providing unclear direction about enforcement of the individual mandate, and generally creating uncertainty about the future of our health care system, the Trump Administration is forcing insurers to raise premiums for the 2018 plan year. These actions are threatening to make health care inaccessible and unaffordable for millions of Americans."

The report also includes a detailed appendix of statements from insurers and insurance commissioners describing the impact these actions will have on increasing insurance premiums for consumers.

A copy of the report is available HERE (http://democrats-energycommerce.house.gov/sites/democrats.energycommerce.house.gov/files/documents/A%20Manufactured%20Crisis%20-%20Trump%20Administration%20and%20Republican%20Sabotage%20of%20the%20Health%20Care%20System_FINAL.pdf).