(WASHINGTON, D.C.) - Congressman Jamie Raskin (MD-08) joined Rep. Don Beyer (VA-08) today in sending a letter to U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Secretary Alex Azar to cease changes to the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) health insurance marketplace standards which increase premiums and out-of-pocket costs. The proposed change to how applicable percentages and maximum out-of-pocket limit are adjusted each year is the latest in a long list of efforts by the Trump administration to undermine the ACA and will make care more expensive and less accessible for Americans who need it the most.

The lawmakers wrote:

“We urge you to cease sabotaging the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and cease your efforts to make healthcare more expensive and less accessible. Particularly, we ask you to rescind recent rulemaking affecting health insurance issuer standards. That rulemaking will change the annual adjustment of ACA’s applicable percentages and maximum out-of-pocket limit. This change is not required by the ACA or any other statute, but is purely discretionary. This final rulemaking will force people to pay more, both in their premiums and by increasing their maximum out-of-pocket limit.

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“Healthcare is expensive and inaccessible to millions of Americans; this final rulemaking further worsens quality healthcare accessibility and affordability. Choosing to adopt these changes will raise premiums for millions of people and weaken protections against high out-of-pocket costs for millions more. As the final rule itself notes, ‘all commenters on this topic expressed opposition to or concerns about the proposed change.’ If the Administration wants to make quality healthcare more accessible and affordable, it should stop this sabotage and rescind the changes to health insurance issuer standards.”

A signed copy of the letter can be found here.

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