(BOSTON, MA) – Statement of Robert Restuccia, executive director of Community Catalyst, in response to President Trump’s threats to sabotage the Affordable Care Act marketplaces.

“President Trump’s threats to sabotage the ACA marketplaces, raising premiums for millions of people and encouraging insurers to drop out of the market, is a reprehensible attempt to coerce opponents of the GOP repeal bill to agree to an even more harmful proposal. These threats to people’s care are the worst form of political gamesmanship.

“Estimates from the Kaiser Family Foundation demonstrate that failure to fund the ACA’s cost-sharing reductions (CSRs), as President Trump is threatening, would result in a roughly 20 percent increase in insurance premiums for marketplace consumers. The decision on whether to take this irresponsible action lies wholly with the administration and the Congressional Republican leadership. We urge them to come to their senses and maintain funding for the CSR program under the ACA.

“President Trump’s threat follows on the heels of the failure of the ACA repeal bill, the American Health Care Act (AHCA), championed by his administration and House leadership. The AHCA would not only have taken coverage away from 24 million people, it would have also undermined protections for people with pre-existing conditions, taken benefits away from seniors, people with disabilities and children and shifted costs onto states and providers—all to finance tax cuts for big corporations and the wealthy. The bill was widely opposed by insurers, doctors, nurses, members of both parties and the public.

“Community Catalyst and its partners in states throughout the country are committed to common sense improvements to the Affordable Care Act, and we call upon members of Congress and the Trump administration to act in good faith and offer real solutions to improve our nation’s health care system. We will hold them accountable for any action they take that would result in fewer people covered, increased costs or a scaling down of benefits.”

About Community Catalyst
Community Catalyst is a national, non-profit consumer advocacy organization founded in 1998 with the belief that affordable quality health care should be accessible to everyone. We work in partnership with national, state and local organizations, policymakers, and philanthropic foundations to ensure consumer interests are represented wherever important decisions about health and the health system are made: in communities, courtrooms, statehouses and on Capitol Hill. For more information, visit www.communitycatalyst.org. Read our blog at http://blog.communitycatalyst.org. Follow us on Twitter @healthpolicyhub.