Sen. Brown on Kasich Healthcare Plan: We Must Lower Costs, Stabilize Health Insurance Market

WASHINGTON, Aug. 31 -- The office of Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, issued the following news release:

U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) applauded Ohio Governor John Kasich's bipartisan efforts to strengthen the Affordable Care Act, and called on President Donald Trump and his colleagues in Congress to work together to lower costs and stabilize the health insurance market. Brown said he still needs to review all the details of the plan, but appreciates the Governor's bipartisan work and supports ideas like continuing critical payments to Ohio insurers, known as cost-sharing reduction (CSR) payments. Brown has signed onto legislation that would make those payments permanent.

"Governor John Kasich is right - we've got to stabilize our health insurance market, lower costs and make sure all Ohioans can get healthcare," said Brown. "These bipartisan efforts are an example to all of us of how we can work together to come up with commonsense solutions. I look forward to reviewing the details of these proposals as we continue to work to bring down costs for working Ohioans and make needed fixes to our healthcare system."

Brown has offered legislation to make improvements to the Affordable Care Act by adding a public option to the individual marketplaces so all consumers can access an affordable plan no matter where they live, while adding competition and lowering costs. He also introduced a package of proposals to bring down the skyrocketing price of prescription drugs, one of the major cost drivers in the healthcare system, including a bill to crack down on pharmaceutical companies who spike prices overnight. Brown's proposals have been called, "just about every policy idea drug lobbyists hate."

The Affordable Care Act created CSR payments to reimburse insurers for costs associated with covering lower-income Americans. Uncertainty over whether or not the Administration will continue these payments has forced some insurers - like Anthem - to pull out of Ohio markets.