WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), a member of the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, on Thursday discussed what the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) drastic reduction in personal bankruptcies means for Connecticut families.

“[The U.S. has seen] a 50% decline on the number of people who file personal bankruptcy and there’s only one reason for it. The Affordable Care Act. There’s still some people that get into the situation that you’re in, but there are hundreds of thousands less people because they have access. And that’s astonishing. There’s very few pieces of legislation that we pass that have that big an impact. A 50% reduction in the number of people who file bankruptcy in this country and we’re putting it all at risk,” Murphy said.

Murphy also criticized the Trump administration for aggressively promoting short-term health care plans. These so-called “junk” plans are not required to provide the same standard of care as traditional health plans covered by the Affordable Care Act’s protections and guarantees for patients. Plans can deny  coverage for people with pre-existing conditions, are not required to provide essential health benefits, impose annual and lifetime limits, and retroactively cancel coverage after patients file claims.   

“I’d love for the people who support these short-term plans to sit down and read a statement of benefits, right? I’d love for all the people… [to] actually sit down and see if they can understand the fine print of these junk plans that are in the business of trying to make you believe you’re getting coverage when you’re not getting coverage,” Murphy said. “I’m in the business of doing healthcare policy and when I sign my family up for the exchange every year, most of what I’m reading is Greek to me, never mind to the folks that we are now asking to aggressively shop around, given that the protections that we all put into the law to make sure that insurance is insurance are being eviscerated.”

Excerpts of Murphy’s remarks are available below:

“Mr. Bloechl, your story reminds me of one I've told a few times. A family that actually did have to file for bankruptcy before the Affordable Care Act was law. Back before the Affordable Care Act was law, about one and a half million people every year filed for personal bankruptcy. I don’t know if Senator Baldwin just used these statistics. And we knew at the time that about half of those, more than half of those, were because of these medical debts, for people who were exactly in your position, Sam. And today that number is 750,000. That’s a 50% decline on the number of people who file personal bankruptcy and there’s only one reason for it. The Affordable Care Act. There’s still some people that get into the situation that you’re in, but there are hundreds of thousands less people because they have access. And that’s astonishing. There’s very few pieces of legislation that we pass that have that big an impact. A 50% reduction in the number of people who file bankruptcy in this country and we’re putting it all at risk.

The Bergers, from Meriden, Connecticut, have a unique story. This was before the Affordable Care Act. They were on the husband’s insurance their entire life, the husband switched jobs. One week, one week he was without insurance. One single week. Guess what happened during that week? Son got diagnosed with cancer and it became a preexisting condition that the new insurer would not cover. And you know what happened to the Burgers? They lost everything. They lost their house, they lost their savings, they lost the kids’ college fund. They went bankrupt because of the misfortune of a diagnosis occurring in the one week, in the seven day period of time that they didn’t have insurance. That’s a unique story, but there are 750,000 unique stories that now have protection because of the Affordable Care Act.

[…]

I’d love for the people who support these short-term plans to sit down and read a statement of benefits, right? I’d love for all the people who think that folks who are signing up for health insurance are you know, just gonna be smart consumers and be able to weigh the benefits of one versus the benefits of another. And actually sit down and see if they can understand the fine print of these junk plans that are in the business of trying to make you believe you’re getting coverage when you’re not getting coverage. Especially if you’re in your twenties, thinking to yourself, ‘I’m never gonna need this.’ Then all of a sudden you get pregnant, you have a complication, and you need it. I’m in the business of doing healthcare policy and when I sign my family up for the exchange every year, most of what I’m reading is Greek to me, never mind to the folks that we are now asking to aggressively shop around, given that the protections that we all put into the law to make sure that insurance is insurance are being eviscerated.”

 

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