Senate Democrats plan to focus on health care during the month of August, following the announcement by the Republican majority that their summer recess was canceled.
The second-ranking Democrat in the Senate said August will bring high premiums, and they want to help correct that for the American people.
“By August, we will see a dramatic increase in health insurance premiums in America,” Sen. Richard J. Durbin, Illinois Democrat, said to CNN in reaction to the news August recess was scrapped.
“What the Republicans have done to damage it can be undone tomorrow,” he added.
The Illinois Democrat made the comment after Politico reported a senior Senate Democratic aide said the lawmakers are focusing on health care because it’s seen as the biggest failure of Republicans ahead of the November midterms.
“August will be health care month. Every time they say ’nominations,’ we’ll say ’lower premiums.’ When they say ’appropriations process,’ we’ll say ’bring down drug prices,’ ” the unnamed aide said. “We’re going to be relentless in pushing to prevent the Republican rate hikes that are set to land just before Election Day.”
Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Kentucky Republican, announced Tuesday that senators would work back in their districts the first week of August but would return to Washington for the rest of the month.
“Due to the historic obstruction by Senate Democrats of the president’s nominees, and the goal of passing appropriations bills prior to the end of the fiscal year, the August recess has been canceled,” Mr. McConnell’s statement read.
“Senators should expect to remain in session in August to pass legislation, including appropriations bills, and to make additional progress on the president’s nominees,” he added.
Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer, New York Democrat, told Mr. McConnell to focus on a series of measures that Republicans are likely to oppose or resist if they are not accompanied by other concessions.
They include letting the federal government use its authority under Medicare to negotiate down the cost of drugs, while creating a drug-pricing czar to block price increases; enhancing Obamacare’s tax credits and help for out-of-pocket costs; establishing a reinsurance program to subsidize the cost of pricey customers in the individual market; letting people buy into Medicare before they reach age 65; and creating incentives for 17 holdouts states to expand Medicaid to people making 138 percent of the federal poverty level.
“President Trump promised the American people health care that is ’far less expensive and far better,’” Mr. Schumer wrote in a letter to the GOP leader. “Unfortunately, today the situation is far worse. After 18 months of trying to repeal the Affordable Care Act and deliberately sabotaging our health care system, Republican policies have resulted in major premium increases for millions of Americans.”
Insurers from Washington state to New York have requested double-digit premiums increases on Obamacare plans for next year, citing static enrollment and Republicans’ decision to scrap penalties tied to the individual mandate to hold insurance.
Democrats point to analyses that say insurers were starting to break even and would have requested modest increases for next year, only to see Republicans step in and scrap the main prod for getting healthy people to sign up.
They also say President Trump’s push to let customers hold “short-term plans” for a full year, and let trades band together into “association plans,” are spooking insurers who think much-needed customers will flee the Obamacare markets.
Both types of plans do not have to comply with the 2010 law’s strict coverage requirements, so healthy people might see it as a more affordable option.
• Tom Howell Jr. contributed to this report.
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