ON MEDICAID'S 61ST ANNIVERSARY, A REMINDER PENNSYLVANIA REPUBLICANS CONTINUE TO PUSH DEVASTATING HEALTHCARE CUTS

The following information was released by the Pennsylvania Democratic Party:

Republican-backed cuts have already caused more than 177,000 Pennsylvanians to lose their health insurance coverage and premiums to double

Stacy Garrity's support for the MAGA healthcare cuts saying they were "absolutely the right thing to do" makes clear she cannot be trusted to stand up for our Commonwealth

PENNSYLVANIA On the 61st anniversary of Medicaid becoming law, a reminder that Pennsylvania Republicans including Stacy Garrity, Brian Fitzpatrick, Ryan Mackenzie, Rob Bresnahan, and Scott Perry have embraced an agenda that has already stripped more than 177,000 Pennsylvanians of their health insurance coverage and caused premiums to double across the Commonwealth.

Fitzpatrick, Mackenzie, Bresnahan and Perry all voted to advance the One Big Beautiful Bill responsible for Pennsylvanians facing higher costs and having less access to healthcare and Stacy Garrity said their vote was "absolutely the right thing to do" even as more and more Pennsylvanians have been forced to make impossible decisions "between health coverage and rent, food and utilities" as "more than 10,000 Pennsylvanians are losing health insurance coverage every month."

And while Pennsylvania Republicans have backed this agenda every step of the way, Governor Josh Shapiro and Pennsylvania Democrats will continue to stand up for Pennsylvanians' healthcare and work to lower costs across the Commonwealth.

Read more:

Axios Pittsburgh: Thousands of Pennsylvanians lose ACA health coverage each month

More than 10,000 Pennsylvanians are losing health insurance coverage every month, the state's Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace tells Axios.

Why it matters: The Republican-controlled Congress let Biden-era enhanced federal tax credits expire, and costs for ACA plans have spiked since, leading to massive drops in the state's coverage marketplace, Pennie.

By the numbers: Pennie coverage is down to 431,000 as of July 1, executive director Devon Trolley said.

That's a decrease of 55,000 enrollees since open enrollment ended Jan. 31.

What they're saying: "People making over $63,000 for one person, there is a huge drop-off there. They were paying a couple hundred dollars a month and now, in some instances, they have to pay over a thousand," said Trolley.

Middle and upper-middle income individuals had previously qualified for enhanced Biden-era subsidies, she said.

Zoom in: Pennsylvanians making about $23,000 a year saw their premiums increase $85 a month on average, according to Pennie data.

That number was $100 a month for those making about $40,000 a year and $500 for those making about $66,000.

Zoom out: Compared to last year, there are over 5 million fewer people on ACA coverage nationally, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

Between the lines: Trolley said there was a three-month grace period when users didn't have to pay, and after that ran out, the drop-offs accelerated.

"We had people that wanted to hang on for as long as they could," she said.

She expects more cancellations are coming as people burn through their savings to keep health care coverage.

The bottom line: Coverage typically remains steady past April, said Trolley, but this year was different when enrollees started to free fall that month.

And Trolley said there are no signs of that slowing down.

###