Congressional Republican tax bill threatens health care coverage for 112,000 Coloradans, increases premiums by over 28-percent statewide<\/p>\n
DENVER, CO \u2013\u00a0Governor Jared Polis today signed a bill into law to help blunt health insurance rate increases and significantly reduce the number of Coloradans who could lose their health insurance coverage due to Congress\u2019s refusal to extend the enhanced premium tax credits.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis legislation will blunt Congressional Republicans\u2019 nearly 30 percent increase in health care premium hikes and prevent 20,000 Coloradans from losing their health care coverage,\u201d\u00a0said Rep. Kyle Brown, D-Louisville.\u00a0\u201cIf we don\u2019t act now, Republicans\u2019 failure to extend tax credits for people who purchase their health insurance will lead to over 100,000 Coloradans losing coverage next year and increased costs for businesses and families.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cColoradans cannot afford these insurance premium hikes, so we are doing what needs to be done to keep costs down and protect coverage,\u201d said Senator Kyle Mullica, D-Thornton.\u00a0\u201cSkyrocketing premiums mean that hundreds of thousands of Coloradans will be forced to spend more of their paycheck on essential health care, and many will lose their coverage altogether. We can\u2019t wait. We must act now to shield families from these unaffordable premium increases and keep Coloradans insured.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOnly Congress can fully prevent 100,000 Coloradans from losing health care next year and stop these outrageous premium increases, but we are doing what we can for one year in Colorado to protect care for as many people as possible,\u201d\u00a0said Rep. Lindsay Gilchrist, D-Denver.\u00a0\u201cWhen people don\u2019t have health insurance, they either aren\u2019t able to see a doctor, or when they do, everyone else has to pay for that care. This drives up costs for everyone and leads to worse health outcomes. Congress must act now to prevent massive price hikes for health insurance.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cColoradans in every corner of the state have struggled to make ends meet to pay for costly health care coverage,\u201d\u00a0said Senator Iman Jodeh, D-Aurora. \u201cDue to Congressional Republicans\u2019 failure to extend premium tax credits that help keep insurance premiums affordable, tens of thousands of lives are at stake. We simply cannot gamble with life-saving health care coverage. That\u2019s why we\u2019re taking action and doing everything we can this year to protect Coloradans\u2019 care.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe reinsurance program has saved Coloradans billions on health insurance, especially on the Western Slope, where Congressional Republicans\u2019 inaction will leave us facing nearly 40 percent increases in insurance premiums,\u201d said Speaker Julie McCluskie, D-Dillon. \u201cThis law will help us avoid even higher price hikes and preserve coverage for Coloradans who will lose access to health care if we do not act now. Congress has failed our state, and I urge Jeff Hurd, Gabe Evans and the Republicans in our delegation to act now to prevent 100,000 Coloradans from losing access to health care and to stop the 40 percent premium increases on the individual market that are coming next year as a result of their budget.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n