The Loss of the ACA Would Raise Health Care Costs by an Estimated 198% for Montanans While Giving the Richest Americans a Tax Break
Recent FEC data compiled by End Citizens United, the largest campaign finance reform PAC in the country, shows that Senator Steve Daines received over $270,000 from the Koch Brothers and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. If the health care bill is passed, the Kochs and the mega-donors behind the Chamber stand to gain millions in tax breaks.
Under the Senate health care repeal bill, over 80,000 people in Montana could lose their health insurance coverage, including 1,200 Montana veterans, by 2026. In addition, a full ACA repeal could allow insurance companies to refuse care to over 150,000 Montanans with a pre-existing condition and could raise premiums by 198% for the average Montanan. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a nonpartisan think tank, found that a 60-year-old in Montana would see her health care costs go up by over $5,000 under the Senate bill.
Despite the unpopularity of the bill, members of Congress, including Senator Daines have continued to push for repeal, a convenient nod to his Big Money donors who are set to receive a $250,000 tax cut.
“Senator Daines has a choice. He can either stand with Montanans or he can stand with Big Money,” said Tiffany Muller, president and executive director of End Citizens United. “You don’t have to be a detective to see the connection between the hundreds of thousand of dollars the Koch Brothers and their cronies have spent to elect Senator Daines and his support to take health care away from Montanans. Senator Daines’ mega-donors expect to be repaid and you can bet he doesn’t have the backbone to stand up and go against their wishes.”
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