Morrisey-Backed Health Care Sabotage Raises Rates by $1,400 in West Virginia

WASHINGTON, May 22 -- The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee issued the following news release:

New estimates from the Urban Institute and Center for American Progress have found that Mountaineers will pay more for health care: insurance premiums will rise by $1,400 for a 40-year-old individual next year. Premiums across the country will increase by an average of 10 percent due to Republican efforts to sabotage the insurance system.

From Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee spokesman David Bergstein: "As Mountaineers face higher health care costs - with premiums set to rise by $1,400 - Patrick Morrisey and Washington Republicans continue to sabotage the health care system, making coverage more expensive and less accessible. Voters know who is to blame and they'll hold Morrisey accountable."

The GOP's sabotage is already having lasting, negative effects on Americans' care. A report in Forbes found that over 40 percent of Americans skipped going to the doctor when they were sick or injured last year because of the high cost of care and CNBC found that Americans are "more afraid of medical bills than an actual illness." Consumers for Quality Care found that 85 percent of Americans are concerned about health care costs, with health care topping other cost concerns such as retirement or housing, while CBS found that, by a two-to-one margin, voters "say they've been hurt, not helped, by the GOP's changes to the health care laws."

That's why health care remains top of mind for voters: the latest HuffPost/YouGov poll found "American voters are more likely to say they're focused about health care than any other issue" and Kaiser Health reported that the majority of Americans are "worried about their out-of-pocket costs increasing so high that" they won't be able to afford care.