Trump Administration Guts Systems to Keep Premiums Low, Roskam Complicit

(Downers Grove) July 8, 2018 – Sixth District Congressional candidate Sean Casten today criticized the Trump Administration for its latest attempt to undermine the Affordable Care Act and said that he would be a “check” on those efforts rather than an “accomplice” like Rep. Peter Roskam.

“President Trump’s defunding of the Affordable Care Act will condemn thousands here in Illinois to massive premium increases or lose their health care coverage entirely.” Casten said. “Peter Roskam voted repeatedly to kill the Affordable Care Act, and now with Trump’s callous action Peter Roskam gets his wish. It’s a heartless and vindictive act, especially since neither the President nor Peter Roskam have any viable alternative to helping people afford health care coverage.”

The Trump Administration announced over the weekend that it is freezing payments under the Affordable Care Act that protect insurers with sicker patients from financial losses – a system used successfully with Medicare.

A spokesman for the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association said that the Trump Administration’s move “will significantly increase 2019 premiums for millions of individuals and small business owners.”

As a Member of Congress, Roskam has voted more than 60 times to kill Obamacare, including a 2017 vote to repeal the program without a replacement.