11.14.2017 / Press Release

Families USA Denounces Proposal to Fund Tax Cuts for the Wealthy by Raising Premiums and Taking Health Insurance Away from Working Families

Washington, D.C. – Today, Republicans on the Senate Finance Committee announced their plan to finance more than $300 billion worth of tax breaks for the wealthy by taking away health insurance and raising health insurance premiums for hard-working families in America. According to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO), this proposed policy – the end of individual health coverage requirements – would save the federal government $338 billion by taking health insurance away from 13 million people and raising premiums 10 percent higher than under current law.

Following is the statement of Frederick Isasi, executive director of Families USA, on the implications of this Senate proposal:

“President Trump and his congressional allies are once again trying to jam through Congress, on a straight party-line vote, massive and extreme changes to the nation’s economy and health care system. Never has it been clearer that Republican leadership wants to use the health insurance relied on by millions of families as a piggy bank to finance massive new tax breaks for millionaires, billionaires, and large corporations.

“Families throughout the country have been very clear about what matters to them: quality health care that is affordable. This proposal completely ignores the needs of our nation’s families and if it succeeds it would result in at least 13 million people losing their health coverage and millions more would see their health care costs skyrocket. As the president and congressional leadership focus on tax reform, they continue these partisan attacks on the basic needs of our nation’s families. We urge Congress to return to bipartisan policymaking that yields carefully considered, common-sense legislation that improves people’s lives.”