U.S. Sen. Murphy seeks to cancel Trump change on ACA premium tax credits

U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut has teamed with New Hampshire”™s U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen to author the Fair Indexing for Health Care Affordability Act, which is designed to roll back a recent Trump administration”™s rule change related to eligibility for the Affordable Care Act”™s (ACA) premium tax credits.

CT health insurance According to a press release issued by the Democratic legislator, the new rule “changed the index by which eligibility for the ACA”™s premium tax credits and maximum out-of-pocket limits are set each year, resulting in a 2.5 percent increase in the maximum out-of-pocket limit in 2020 compared to where out-of-pocket limits would have been under the old indexing factor.”

As a result, Murphy said, the change would bring about a $200 increase in the cap on out-of-pocket costs for individuals and a $400 per year increase for families.

“The goal of the Affordable Care Act was to make health care more accessible for individuals and families, but the Trump administration has been hell-bent on doing the opposite,” Murphy said. The new bill “reverses the Trump administration”™s harmful regulation that increases out of pocket expenses for ACA marketplace plans so families aren”™t hit with hundreds of dollars in premium increases next year.”

The bill has yet to be formally introduced for Senate consideration. Connecticut”™s U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal has announced his backing of the legislation by stating, “I am proud to support this measure that will return money to the pocketbooks of Connecticut”™s middle-class families.”