The Democrats who won last week’s elections focused on pocketbook issues, so going forward, they’ll take any opportunity to blame Republicans for rising costs.
While the messaging throughout the shutdown focused mainly on the Affordable Care Act insurance exchanges, Democrats are preparing to hammer Republicans for Medicaid cuts and high prescription drug prices.
“This health care crisis is, of course, about health insurance. There's a lot of other things,” Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. (D-N.J.) told reporters Wednesday. “This health crisis is also about the price for prescription drugs ... which, after your health insurance premiums, is the biggest problem that Americans face.”
Messaging on health care costs is likely to feature prominently in the midterm elections, even in the unlikely event the enhanced subsidies are extended. Affordability was a key issue last week, and Democrats think that the subsidy fight, combined with highlighting the cuts in the GOP party-line tax bill, is a winning combination.
“We want to make sure that we call attention to these health care costs that are about to take place because of their refusal to negotiate, their refusal to participate and never, never, once, ever having a plan of their own for health care other than the idea to keep people going into emergency room care,” Rep. Richard Neal (D-Mass.) said during a call with advocacy group Protect Our Care. “It's tax breaks for billionaires, but health care costs are going to go way up for average American citizens.”
Insurers participating in ACA exchanges priced their plans under the assumption that the enhanced subsidies would expire, so people enrolled in those plans are seeing the sticker shock of their premium payments doubling or tripling compared to last year.
