(BISMARCK, ND) – A new report from The New York Times reveals how national Republican leaders are deliberately trying to undermine health insurance markets and increase costs for consumers, following their repeated failures to repeal and replace the federal health care law.

The Times article – which follows similar reports by BuzzFeed News and the Daily Beast – also highlights how continued silence from Republican officials and candidates like Rep. Kevin Cramer, state Sen. Tom Campbell and U.S. Sen. John Hoeven is contributing to the problem of uncertainty in the marketplace and rising costs for North Dakota families.

“With massive cuts to federal funds that help North Dakotans sign up for health insurance – and statements from Medica saying their ability to participate in North Dakota’s exchange is threatened by uncertainty with federal payments to help families afford coverage – one thing is clear: Deliberate attempts from Republicans to undermine the federal health care law are sowing chaos in the insurance marketplace and threatening North Dakotans’ access to care,” said Democratic-NPL executive director Scott McNeil. “Representative Cramer, state Sen. Campbell, and U.S. Sen. Hoeven must call for an end to these deliberate attempts to sabotage of our health care system and commit to working on real solutions that rein in costs and protect North Dakotans’ access to care.”

According to the Times:

“After the latest Senate effort to repeal the health law collapsed, insurers still have no commitment about whether the government will continue to allocate millions of dollars in critical financing […] 

“The changing circumstances and inaction by Congress have forced insurers to raise rates and experiment with different plans for those who are not eligible for federal assistance.”

According to BuzzFeed News:    

“All of the [Department of Health and Human Service’s] 10 regional directors were told not to participate in state-based events promoting open enrollment — a significant change from years past.

“The move follows a trend by the Trump administration of stepping away from past federal assistance for Obamacare and, particularly, of dialing back resources for the upcoming open enrollment period.”

According to the Daily Beast:

“The Trump administration said it cut the navigator programs because recipients had not met previous enrollment goals (PDF). But navigators say this deliberately ignores the work they do, from educating people about their health care options to convincing those they do enroll to persuade others to do the same. For them, the dialing-back of the program reeks of a White House trying to gut a law they couldn’t legislatively undo.”

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(BISMARCK, ND) – 47,000 North Dakotans would lose health coverage under Republicans’ latest, last-ditch effort to pass a health care repeal bill, according to a new estimate by the Center for American Progress. Across the country, 32 million Americans would lose their coverage.
 
Yesterday, the American Medical Association joined 17 other health care organizations by announcing their opposition to the latest repeal bill, known as Graham-Cassidy. The AMA wrote that, like previous health care repeal bills, Graham-Cassidy “violates the precept of ‘First do no harm.’”        
 
“North Dakotans should ask themselves why national Republicans – including Rep. Kevin Cramer and Sen. John Hoeven – refuse to work on health care reform proposals that don’t start with destructive goals like revoking protections for preexisting conditions, eliminating Medicaid expansion, and dismantling traditional Medicaid,” said Democratic-NPL executive director Scott McNeil. “Supporting a bill that would cause 47,000 North Dakotans and 32 million Americans to lose their health insurance isn’t just bad policy – it’s immoral. Sen. Hoeven and Rep. Cramer should drop these reckless efforts, and instead focus on bipartisan solutions that stabilize insurance markets, expand coverage, and lower costs. There are plenty of good ideas out there, including many of the policies Senator Heitkamp has been working on and accomplishing for years.” 
 
“State Sen. Tom Campbell – an announced candidate for U.S. Senate – also has an obligation to tell us where he stands on ripping health insurance away from 47,000 North Dakotans,” added McNeil.          

(BISMARCK, ND) – The Fargo Forum reported yesterday that U.S. Senator John Hoeven is “supportive” of the newest Republican health care repeal bill known as Graham-Cassidy. Hoeven’s support comes as no fewer than 18 national medical and patient organizations announced their opposition to the bill.
 
State Senator Tom Campbell – who is spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on television ads for his U.S. Senate campaign 14 months before election day – hasn’t said a word about Graham-Cassidy or its impacts on North Dakota. Neither has Congressman Kevin Cramer.
 
“North Dakotans have been clear that they expect our leaders to work for real, bipartisan health care solutions that lower costs and protect patients, without kicking tens of thousands of North Dakotans off their health insurance, without dismantling Medicaid, and without jeopardizing rural hospitals that are critical in states like ours,” said Democratic-NPL Chairwoman Kylie Oversen. “Unfortunately Republicans in Washington and our own Senator John Hoeven haven’t gotten that message. While Kevin Cramer has supported equally devastating measures in the past, perhaps the silence from Tom Campbell on Graham-Cassidy suggests he understands what an awful piece of legislation this truly is. Campbell apparently wants to be a senator, but he’s too scared to say if he stands for a bill that would hurt North Dakota.”

Graham-Cassidy’s impacts on North Dakota:
 
Last week, the nonpartisan Center for Budget and Policy Priorities released a report showing that North Dakota stands to lose $677 million in Medicaid funding over the next decade under Graham-Cassidy. Medicaid provides health coverage for over 90,000 North Dakotans, including approximately 36,000 children. Another report from the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation found that Graham-Cassidy would impose an age tax on older Americans, allowing insurers to charge them up to 5 times more for coverage.

Major medical organizations oppose Graham-Cassidy: 
 
Today, the American Medical Association – the largest organization representing physicians in the United States – announced their opposition to Graham-Cassidy, writing:
 
“Similar to proposals that were considered in the Senate in July, we believe the Graham-Cassidy Amendment would result in millions of Americans losing their health insurance coverage, destabilize health insurance markets, and decrease access to affordable coverage and care.” 
 
The AMA added that Graham-Cassidy, “violates the precept of ‘first do no harm.’”
 
Other national organizations opposing the bill include: 
 
– American Medical Association 
– American College of Physicians
– ALS Association
– American Cancer Society 
– American Diabetes Association
– American Heart Association
– American Lung Association
– Arthritis Foundation
– Cystic Fibrosis Foundation
– Family Voices
– JDRF
– Lutheran Services in America
– March of Dimes
– National Health Council
– National Multiple Sclerosis Society
– National Organization for Rare Diseases
– Volunteers of America
– WomenHeart

(BISMARCK, ND) – Responding to the deadly white supremacist rally that occurred in Charlottesville, VA, over the weekend, Democratic-NPL Chairwoman Kylie Oversen issued the following statement:

“This weekend, we witnessed horrific acts of hate, violence and terror perpetrated by white supremacists, white nationalists and neo-Nazis. This was terrorism, plain and simple, and it claimed American lives. There should be no hesitation to condemn it, and no equivocation about who carried out these acts of terror.

“Two days have gone by, and North Dakotans have yet to hear from Congressman Kevin Cramer or Senator John Hoeven. We have heard forceful words of condemnation from other leaders across the country – both Republicans and Democrats – and it’s time for all North Dakota leaders to speak out, too.”

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(BISMARCK, ND) – A new report by the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation shows that mixed signals from the stalled Republican health care repeal efforts – as well as actions taken by the administration that threaten to disrupt insurance markets – are causing uncertainty “far outside the norm” leading insurers to seek higher premium increases for the coming year.

“Rather than working to develop bipartisan solutions that expand access to care and lower costs, congressional Republicans like Kevin Cramer and John Hoeven pushed for widely panned legislation that would rip health coverage away from tens of thousands of North Dakotans,” said Democratic-NPL spokesperson Daniel Tick. “Their ill-fated attempts at repeal – combined with the administration’s threats to destabilize insurance markets – are leading to higher premiums for North Dakota families. And still, Cramer and Hoeven show no signs of willingness to come to the table and work on real, bipartisan solutions.”     

The Kaiser Family Foundation examined publicly available filings used by insurers to justify proposed premiums to state regulators. They found that, among many factors contributing to premium increases, uncertainty and mixed signals from the Republican congress and administration played a significant role.     

According to the Associated Press:

“The vast majority of companies in states with detailed rate filings have included some language around the uncertainty, so it is likely that more companies will revise their premiums to reflect uncertainty in the absence of clear answers from Congress or the administration,” the report said. Once premiums are set, they’re generally in place for a whole year […]

“In many cases that means insurers are adding double-digit premium increases on top of what they otherwise would have requested,” said Cynthia Cox, a co-author of the Kaiser report. “In many cases, what we are seeing is an additional increase due to the political uncertainty.”

“North Dakotans deserve an honest conversation about what needs fixing in our health care system, one that includes ideas from all sides and isn’t carried out behind closed doors,” added Tick. “That means we need bipartisan commitment to reining in health care costs without kicking tens of thousands of North Dakotans off their insurance as Cramer and Hoeven supported.”   

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