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Joint Economic Committee Democrats Chairman - Senator Martin Heinrich (D-NM)

Republican ACA Sabotage Already Hiking Health Care Premiums

April 16, 2018

Weekly Economic Snapshot 4/16 - 4/20

Economic Facts for This Week

  • The Congressional Budget Office released their economic and budget projections. Below are some highlights:
    • Annual deficits will reach $1 trillion by 2020, including the impact of the tax law.
    • The new tax law will increase the debt by $1.9 trillion over the next 10 years, even after accounting for growth projections; the total national debt will reach 96 percent of GDP by 2028.
    • Growth between 2022 and 2028 is projected to average 1.7 percent, substantially lower than the administration projection of a 2.9 percent average.
    • Head Start is a vital part of rural communities, enrolling more than 175,000 children and employing nearly 50,000 workers. In 48 rural counties, parents would have no early learning and child care options without Head Start.
    • Many working adults will lose coverage under Medicaid work requirements due to volatile hours and employment; under a policy like the one Kentucky is implementing, 46 percent of low-income workers would be at risk of losing coverage for at least a month.
    • Tomorrow is tax day; this year, only 17 percent of the benefits of the Republican tax cut will go to the bottom 60 percent of households, while 43 percent of the benefits go to the wealthiest 5 percent.

Chart of the Week             

Since taking office, and with the help of Congressional Republicans, President Trump has been on a mission to sabotage the Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplaces. Most notably, the administration ended cost sharing reduction (CSR) payments, which helped reduce customer premiums. The results of this sabotage are in: Americans in every state are paying more for health care as a direct cause of these actions. On average, premiums before tax credits on ACA marketplaces are $960 more this year because of these actions – more than wiping out the average tax savings that families earning under $75,000 received from the recent tax cuts.

ICYMI

  • Five former CEA chairs (including former Fed chair Janet Yellen) explain why an honest conversation on fiscal sustainability should start with the recent Republican tax cuts.
  • Recent research looks at the share of workers in each state and county who are exposed to President Trump’s potential trade war.
  • First-generation college students are less likely than other students to be college ready, enroll in college, or attend a four-year program.
  • Minimum wage hikes in recent years have led to sustainable raises for workers while not significantly increasing unemployment, according to a comprehensive new study.

Coming This Week

Permalink: https://www.jec.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/democrats/2018/4/weekly-economic-snapshot-1-1-1-5

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