Cantwell Statement on Her Vote to Continue Fighting For Health Care Affordability

WASHINGTON, D.C.– Today, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), ranking member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and senior member of the Senate Finance Committee, released this statement after voting NO on a procedural vote to advance a tentative proposal that fails to address health care affordability.
“This bill doesn’t address the core issue that millions of Americans will no longer be able to afford ACA insurance coverage next year,”said Sen. Cantwell.“I’m willing to work with anyone to create a path forward but this isn’t it.”
Sen. Cantwell has been a leading voice for extending the ACA Enhanced Premium Tax Credits at the center of the government funding debate.
On Friday, Sen. Cantwellspokeon the Senate floor, imploring Senate Republicans to consider a proposal to reopen the government and extend the ACA premium tax credits by one year. In her remarks, Sen. Cantwell highlighted the impact that high health insurance costs have on small businesses.Video of Sen. Cantwell’s Friday floor speech is availableHERE, and a transcriptHERE.
On Friday night, Sen. Maria Cantwell engaged in discussion on the Senate floor with Sen. Bill Cassidy, a physician and her Republican colleague from Louisiana, on his proposal to make health insurance more affordable through the creation of a flexible savings account program.Video of their exchange isHERE; a full transcript isHERE.
Sen. Cantwell also took to the floor on Wednesday, delivering aspeechin which she urged her Republican colleagues to address the affordability crisis facing American families – especially the millions who depend on SNAP benefits to put food on their tables.Video of Sen. Cantwell’s Wednesday floor speech is availableHEREand a transcriptHERE.
Last month, Sen. Cantwellreleased a case studyshowing the actual, shocking increase in health premiums for a sample middle-class family purchasing health insurance on the ACA marketplace across all 39 WA counties in real dollars: Theaverageincreaseacross all 39 WA counties is$1,049/month or $12,590/year.
Also last month, Sen. Cantwell released a data analysis showing a county-by-county breakdown of where Washingtonians will be hit hardest if Republicans continue refusing to negotiate an extension of the Enhanced Premium Tax Credits. According to the data, there are seven counties where the average health insurance premium is set tomore than doublenext year assuming the Enhanced Premium Tax Credit is allowed to lapse.All seven of these hardest-hit counties are in rural regions east of the Cascades: Yakima, Grant, Adams, Franklin, Douglas, Chelan, and Ferry counties.A one-pager on the data can be viewedHERE.
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