Mainers call out Collins, share personal stories about devastating impacts of expiring ACA tax credits
In case you missed it, on Friday the Maine Democratic Party hosted a virtual roundtable where impacted Mainers discussed how they are set to see their insurance rates skyrocket when the ACA’s enhanced premium tax credits expire, thanks to Susan Collins not including an extension for ACA tax credits in the deal to reopen the government and repeatedly voting against a bill that would have extended the credits.
As a result of Collins not extending the tax credits when she had the chance, more than 50,000 Mainers are expected to see their insurance premiums “double, triple or even quadruple.”
See some of the key moments:
Maine Democratic Party Executive Director Devon Murphy-Anderson:
Susan Collins is to blame for Mainers’ skyrocketing insurance rates and the pending health care coverage crisis that Maine faces. The increased insurance costs Mainers are expected to pay and the pending health care cliff, where Mainers will lose health insurance, falls squarely on Susan Collins’ shoulders as she refuses to do anything to help.
Susan Collins hasn’t done anything to protect Mainers who rely on these tax credits. In fact, Collins refused to include an extension of the ACA tax credits in the deal to reopen the government, she has voted against a bill numerous times that would have extended the tax credits, and she called the efforts to protect health care “poison pills.”
Mainer Samantha Merrill from North Berwick:
I am a self-employed licensed clinical professional counselor and a lifelong resident of Maine. [...] Me and the ACA go way back to probably 2010-ish, when my husband at the time was a self-employed contractor. Obamacare came along and we were able to afford a comprehensive policy for our family and no longer needed to worry about pre-existing conditions or outrageous costs.
This year, my portion of the policy premium is $478 a month. I receive currently $570 in credits, which is based on my income. My policy is through Harvard Pilgrim, and it's a bronze level plan, meaning a high deductible of $7,500. Upon hearing our leaders in Washington were planning on letting the advanced premium tax credits expire, I knew it was going to be bad for me, my business, and my clients. And as expected, as of January 1st, I will be paying $1300 a month, or $15,600 per year, which is 24% of my income.
I've been thinking long and hard what to do. Option number 1, I close my business, return to agency work, leave my clients with no therapists or support. Two, I stopped contributing to my IRRA and my retirement funds, and hope, hope like hell that Social Security is gonna be around when I retire. Three, I can go without health insurance, which at my age, is a huge gamble.
Susan Collins appears to be short-sighted and perhaps doesn't fully understand the complexity of our health care system and the needs of Maine people, as evidenced by her continued non-support of extending the tax credits and or putting forth ideas for a new healthcare system. Maine's motto is Dirigo, Latin for I lead. We need to send senators to Washington who can do just that, leaders that are bold and creative, willing to step out of party lines in order to build a better system that benefits all of the taxpayers.
Mainer Justin Levesque from Portland:
I've lived my entire life with an inherited and chronic rare illness, called hemophilia. It's a bleeding disorder. And so my life has always sort of been dictated around medication and access to medication and making sure that my parents could provide the right insurance. And we dealt with many things like lifetime caps, and pre-existing conditions sort of preventing care. So when the ACA passed and it became available to us, it was really important.
When I first got on this plan a few years ago, I think I was paying closer to somewhere in the $200 a month, almost $300, and now I'm getting up to $600-$700. I make my living as an artist, as a visual artist, and being able to access a plan through the marketplace is great for people who want to have their own business or be a creative or be an artist because, especially as someone with a pre-existing condition, because no one's gonna turn me away and it allows me to have both of those things.
The track record so far that Susan Collins has provided on this issue is horrible. It's one thing to be very concerned, but our lives are on the line. People's lives are actually on the line here. If folks can't access their medication, because they can't even afford the premium, we're gonna see deaths and we're gonna see people coming to harm.
The ACA, me being able to afford it, has changed my life. It's allowed me to follow my dreams, and I'm really worried about the future.
Mainer Emily Ingwersen from Arundel:
I grew up in Maine, as did my husband, and we returned here to start a family and a business. We have Ginger Hill Design and Build, which is a small construction company based in Arundel. We have 2 kids and when the ACA was enacted, it enabled us to focus full-time on our growing business. Without it, we wouldn't have been able to purchase private health insurance due to preexisting conditions and the cost of premiums.
If the tax credits are not renewed, my family likely won't be able to afford coverage. And my business could be at risk since we may need to pursue a different avenue to ensure our kids would be covered should they break an arm or come down with a bad case of the flu.
Currently, we're enrolled in a silver level health insurance plan with Anthem [...] our monthly costs now are about $1,200 per month after tax credits. This is a tiered health insurance plan with a maximum out of pocket cost, in addition to our premiums of $16,000 for tier one in-network providers and $18,400 for tier two in-network providers. So again, these are costs that are in addition to our monthly premium. If we were to keep the same plan for next year, our premium would increase to almost $2500 per month, and the out of pocket limits would increase to $17,200 for tier one and $20,300 for tier two providers. It's nowhere near affordable to our family and would represent the single largest bill that we have to pay all year.
Susan Collins clearly doesn't care about Mainers like me who rely on the ACA to be able to support my family. In fact, I met with her several years ago with a group of small business owners, and even then it was pretty clear that she was not interested in supporting small businesses, which really are the backbone of the Maine economy. I just think the inaction on this particular issue is inexcusable.
I mean, there's no reason not to extend these tax credits and as far as I've heard, no one has said anything negative about them. So, if there is no downside, if there's no negative to it, then why not just commit to it and extend the tax credits before December 15th when we all have to enroll in plans. You know, I can't really make a decision on what to do until I know whether or not these tax credits are going to be extended. And if they're not, then, you know, our cheapest possible option on the ACA is still $500 more a month than what we're paying currently.
See more: New Video: Collins Called ACA Tax Credit Extension a “Poison Pill”; MDP Statement on Susan Collins Refusing to Stave Off Skyrocketing Insurance Rates; ICYMI: Mainers Protest Susan Collins as She Refuses to Extend ACA Tax Credits; What They’re Saying: “Mainers Face Steep Premiums on ACA Marketplace with Expiration of Enhanced Tax Credits”; What Mainers are Saying: “Susan Collins Refuses to Protect Our Health Care”; What They’re Watching: Mainers Share Personal Stories of How Skyrocketing Insurance Rates Will Impact Their Lives & Health; What Mainers are Saying About Rising Insurance Premiums: “I am Scared,” “What Are We Going to Do,” People “Are Going to Die”; What Mainers are Saying: Rising Insurance Premiums are “Catastrophic”; ICYMI: “Mainers to Collins: Prioritize Our Health, Renew ACA Tax Credits”; ICYMI: Impacted Mainers Discuss Skyrocketing Insurance Rates As Collins Refuses to Protect Mainers’ Health Care; While Mainers Face Health Care Cliff, Collins Gets MAGA Swag Bag at Trump “Unity” Lunch; What They’re Saying: Maine Democrats, Advocates Criticize Collins, “Warn [of] Health Care Increases” [Maine Morning Star]; ICYMI: Maine Dems, Health Care Leaders Call Out Collins for Failing To Protect Mainers’ Health Care; What Mainers are Watching and Reading: Thanks to Collins, Mainers “Could See Their Premiums Skyrocket”; Maine Beacon: Susan Collins accepts thousands from insurers while health costs soar for Mainers
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