SOTU FACT CHECK: PRESIDENT TRUMP SPENT 2017 FIGHTING TO RAISE HEALTH COSTS, REDUCE COVERAGE AND UNDERMINE PROTECTIONS FOR PRE-EXISTING CONDITIONS

From the House Democratic Leader's Press Office

President Trump's Claim: "I have directed my Administration to make fixing the injustice of high drug prices one of our top priorities. Prices will come down." [State of the Union, 1/30/18]

PRESIDENT TRUMP HAS CONSISTENTLY WORKED TO RAISE AMERICANS' HEALTH CARE COSTS

President Trump has taken two key actions in 2017 that have raised Americans' premiums:

*Stopped Federal Cost Sharing Payments Which Increased Premiums by 20 Percent in 2018, According to CBO: On October 12, President Trump suddenly terminated the key ACA payments that help reduce out-of-pocket costs for individuals. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office stated that this action would increase premiums by 20 percent in 2018 and by 25 percent in 2020. Fortunately, the 85 percent of consumers in the Marketplaces receiving premium tax credits were protected from the increase, but because of Trump's action, the 15 percent of consumers who were unsubsidized had their health care costs significantly increased.

*Also Added the Repeal of the Individual Mandate to the #GOPTaxScam, Which Will Increase Premiums by 10 Percent A Year, According to CBO. According to CBO, the repeal of the individual mandate, which becomes effective in 2019, would result in 13 million fewer Americans having health insurance and a spike in premiums, with premiums increasing by 10 percent in most years of the decade. The repeal of the individual mandate will also result in people with pre-existing conditions having to pay more for their health coverage.

PRESIDENT TRUMP SPENT 2017 FIGHTING FOR TRUMPCARE, WHICH WOULD HAVE RAISED FAMILIES' HEALTH CARE COSTS, REDUCED COVERAGE, AND UNDERMINED PROTECTIONS FOR PRE-EXISTING CONDITIONS

Here are some of the devastating consequences of Trumpcare, if it had been enacted:

*Higher Costs: Trumpcare would force families to pay higher deductibles and other out-of-pocket health care costs. In particular, Trumpcare would force older Americans and sicker Americans to pay substantially higher out-of-pocket costs.

*Less Coverage: According to the nonpartisan CBO, Trumpcare would result in 23 million Americans losing their health care coverage over the next 10 years.

*Key Protections Gutted: Trumpcare would gut Essential Health Benefits and protections for Americans with pre-existing conditions, for millions of Americans.

*A Crushing Age Tax: Trumpcare would force Americans aged 50-64 to pay premiums five times higher than what others pay for health coverage, no matter how healthy they are. Due to the Age Tax and inadequate premium tax credits, CBO estimated that, under Trumpcare, a 64-year-old with an income of $26,500 in the individual market would pay $14,400 more in their premiums each year - an increase of 850 percent.

*Steals from Medicare: Trumpcare would steal $75 billion from the Medicare Trust Fund, shortening the life of the Medicare Trust Fund. Trumpcare would also ransack funds that that seniors depend on to get the long-term care they need.

Due to its numerous devastating consequences, the American public strongly rejected Trumpcare: Polls showed that the American people opposed the Trumpcare legislation by a margin of 2 to 1. For example, a Public Policy Polling poll found that 52 percent of Americans opposed Trumpcare, with only 25 percent supporting it.