Washington insurance commissioner blames Trump for premium hike

“Thanks Trump” is the response Washington’s insurance commissioner issued after announcing that premiums are increasing 36.4 percent.

Washington Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler blames the jump on President Donald Trump’s decision to stop funding cost-sharing reduction assistance, which in turn caused rates to go up by 10 percent.

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“I’m very disheartened to have to approve these rates,” Kreidler said. “For months, we’ve struggled with the ongoing uncertainty at the federal level and have shared our concerns with our Congressional delegation and with the president’s administration. I warned of the harm their actions could inflict on real people and their families. The president’s decision to stop making cost-sharing subsidy payments and weakening enforcement of the individual mandate to buy health insurance are behind the surge in premiums we’re seeing this year.”

Kreidler noted the “skyrocketing” prices of prescription drugs, which is “something the administration promised to tackle, yet has failed to take on.”

Insurance premium hike

More than 300,000 people in Washington are required to get insurance through the state’s exchange or directly from an insurer. Subsidies are only available through the exchange. About 110,00o people purchased silver plans in 2016, which will experience an additional rate increase. More than 73,000 silver plans receive subsidies.

Kreidler said that Trump also shortened this year’s enrollment period in the health exchange, which is affecting its effectiveness.

The insurance commissioner previously warned that messing with cost-sharing reduction assistance would cause the market to react this way.

“President Trump calls the cost-sharing reduction assistance a bailout for insurers, but this only demonstrates his shallow understanding of health insurance and the law he is charged with enforcing,” Kreidler said. “These subsidies help thousands of people in Washington and millions across the country afford coverage. Cutting off the funding only hurts people who struggle to afford and keep their coverage. His decision and inaction by Congress will make it hard for many people to bear the costs. I fear that many will go uninsured.”

Kreidler is urging lawmakers to support senators Lamar Alexander and Patty Murray’s bi-partisan plan that will cover what Trump refused to fund.

“People’s lives are depending on it, ” he said.

There are a total of 11 health insurers that are approved to sell 74 plans in the state’s 2018 health insurance market.

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