Mystic resident attends State of Union to highlight healthcare cost increases

When Mystic resident Lee Burdette Williams' health insurance premiums skyrocketed this year, she and her spouse had to dip into their savings and use a large portion of their paychecks to cover the $2,500 monthly cost.

But Williams, who will be the guest of U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney, D-2nd District, at the State of the Union Tuesday night, said despite that impact on their daily lives, she considers the couple to be very fortunate that they are able to cover the more than 300% price increase. About 5 million Americans are estimated to have given up their health insurance coverage.

She said she is speaking out to raise attention to the effects of the expiration of the Affordable Care Act premium subsidies.

“We're just deeply concerned about the implications for these families who are making the choice not to be insured — and maybe it's not even a choice for them,” Williams said during a media briefing Tuesday. “Maybe they are barely scraping by and just trying to put food on the table for their children, or pay tuition bills, or manage a business. But the cost of not being insured is really incalculable. People get sick — people will die because they don't have insurance.”

Williams said she and her partner have always worked and had insurance through their jobs. But at this point in their careers, both work for nonprofit organizations that were not able to provide them with health insurance, so they had purchased a high-deductible health care plan through the affordable care health exchange that cost them about $750 a month.

But with the expiration of premium subsidies, their monthly premium would have cost about $3,000 a month. Williams said they were able to purchase a plan through her spouse’s employer and now pay $2,500 a month for a plan with a more reasonable deductible. Williams’ spouse works less than 40 hours a week and was not eligible for coverage through her employer, but her employer made a policy change to allow them access to the plan, but with no contribution from the employer.

Williams said a very large portion of the couple’s take-home pay is now going to pay for that premium. The couple has had to forgo expenses that were part of their daily life. They didn’t take a vacation this year, don’t eat out very often, and have delayed some household improvements.

“We've had to tighten our belts in ways that are pretty discouraging for two people who have worked and saved our entire lives,” she said.

She said that if people don't have money to spend in restaurants, hire contractors to get something fixed, buy a new car or get a car repaired, the economy will suffer.

Businesses will close because people don't have that disposable income, she said.

Courtney called on the Trump administration to address the affordability problem and the spike in heath insurance premiums that stated on Jan. 1 for people who have been on the Affordable Care Act health exchange.

He said millions of Americans have been shut out from getting assistance through a bill to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits, which passed the House in December, with bipartisan support, and is awaiting action in the Senate. He said that would lower people's premiums.

Courtney said Williams' story is not an isolated incident. He has heard from many other constituents who have had to make these gut-wrenching decisions, such as whether to borrow from their retirement savings or forgo insurance. He said there's absolutely no justification in 2026 why a country like the United States has to be forcing people into this predicament.

Williams said no member of Congress wakes up in the middle of the night worried about how they're going to make a payment for their health insurance. She said that maybe if the elected officials were facing 300% increases in their monthly contribution, those that seem to not want to support this legislation might feel more of an immediate need.

She said when people drop their insurance and stop using their insurance to cover routine preventative care, and then a year or two later face a disastrous illness or have an accident — that's driving people into bankruptcy.

She would like to think elected representatives want to keep people from being in that situation, so she is trying to be hopeful and crossing her fingers that the president's staff are paying attention and are giving him the right information that he needs to make this change happen.

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