Today, state Representative Sarah Crawford, an ACA navigator, and an ACA tax credit beneficiary highlighted how North Carolinians’ health care costs are skyrocketing after DC insider Michael Whatley cheered on the expiration of the ACA tax credits, causing monthly premiums to double or more for nearly a million North Carolinians.
Watch a recording of the call here.
“Republicans in Washington, DC have created a health care crisis that has made costs skyrocket. They could have done something to fix it by renewing the ACA tax credits but on December 31st, they let them expire,” said State Representative Sarah Crawford. “Cheering them on, right here from North Carolina, is U.S. Senate candidate and DC insider Michael Whatley. North Carolina voters deserve to know that Whatley opposes extending the tax credits, even as their expiration has driven up premiums for nearly a million North Carolinians. And if he were in the Senate, he would be a guaranteed vote against the extension of these credits and a guaranteed vote against affordable health care.”
“I have faced a number of health complications in the last year […] When DC Republicans let the ACA tax credits expire and made my premium more than double, going without insurance simply was not an option. My premium skyrocketed from $975 a month to $1,945 a month,” said Lea Charlton, an ACA tax credit beneficiary who saw her premium skyrocket. “My health should not be up for debate in DC. Michael Whatley wants us to send him to the United States Senate, but he supports letting the tax credits expire and sending premiums through the roof. When I pay nearly $2,000 a month and forgo critical care because I can’t afford it, Whatley is getting exactly what he wanted: High health care costs for working families.”
“We are here today because North Carolina families are losing health coverage right now – not in theory, not in the future. It’s a reality right now. All because DC Republicans let the enhanced premium tax credits expire while insurance premiums continue to rise unchecked,” said Amy Stevens, an ACA navigator. “For the first time in all of my years doing this work, I am seeing something deeply troubling. I am watching neighbors, clients, and friends go without health coverage, not because they don’t need it, but because they simply can no longer afford it […] This should not be a political issue.
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