WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), a member of the U.S. Senate Health Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, on Thursday released a video explaining the Trump administration’s efforts to expand access to junk health insurance plans and how this move is part of a larger campaign to sabotage the Affordable Care Act. These short-term junk plans do not have to provide coverage for essential health benefits and allow insurance companies to discriminate against people with pre-existing conditions.

“Before the Affordable Care Act, insurance companies regularly offered skimpy plans that didn’t cover some of the most basic parts of health care - like prescription drugs or emergency trips to the hospital. People who bought these plans liked that they were cheap, but they didn’t cover much if you actually got diagnosed with an illness or got into an accident,” said Murphy

“An important piece of the Affordable Care Act was getting rid of these junk plans and making sure that every health insurance company covered essential health benefits like your yearly checkup, prescription drugs, mental health care, and trips to the ER… The Trump administration is actively trying to sabotage these protections and bring back the junk plans. Last year, the Trump administration made it easier for insurance companies to put these plans back on the market. This leaves people vulnerable once again to sham policies that don’t offer coverage when you need it,” Murphy added.

Earlier this week, Murphy joined U.S. Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) and Doug Jones (D-Ala.) to introduce the No Junk Plans Act to overturn the Trump administration’s expansion of junk health insurance plans. Murphy recently launched a story collection campaign to hear from families in Connecticut about how they would be impacted if the lawsuit to overturn the Affordable Care Act is successful.

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office recently estimated that over 1 million more people were uninsured in 2018 than were in 2016. Last year, 18 Republican Attorneys General—led by Texas—sued the federal government, arguing that protections for those with pre-existing conditions in the Affordable Care Act are unconstitutional. The Trump administration took the unprecedented step to side with the partisan lawsuit, threatening health insurance coverage for over 20 million Americans. The U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals will hear arguments in this lawsuit in July.

The full text of Murphy’s video is below:

The Trump administration is trying to make it easier for health insurance companies to sell plans that don’t offer basic benefits and can discriminate against Americans with pre-existing conditions.

They’re called junk plans. And I’m here to break down why they’re bad news for patients.

Before the Affordable Care Act, insurance companies regularly offered skimpy plans that didn’t cover some of the most basic parts of health care - like prescription drugs or emergency trips to the hospital.

People who bought these plans liked that they were cheap, but they didn’t cover much if you actually got diagnosed with an illness or got into an accident. All of a sudden, people who thought they were fine because they had insurance were hit with major medical bills. Sometimes hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth.

What’s worse, those plans could drop your coverage entirely if you got sick, and they were free to discriminate against people with pre-existing conditions.

An important piece of the Affordable Care Act was getting rid of these junk plans and making sure that every health insurance company covered essential health benefits like your yearly checkup, prescription drugs, mental health care, and trips to the ER.

The Affordable Care Act also made it illegal for insurance companies to discriminate against people with pre-existing conditions or to charge them more.

The majority of Americans don’t want to lose these protections. And so Republicans have spent plenty of time talking about how important it is to protect people with pre-existing conditions.

The only problem? The Trump administration is actively trying to sabotage these protections and bring back the junk plans. Last year, the Trump administration made it easier for insurance companies to put these plans back on the market.

This leaves people vulnerable once again to sham policies that don’t offer coverage when you need it.

This is where Congress comes in. The House and Senate have the power to shut down the Trump administration’s junk plans, and the House has already passed a bill to do it. But Mitch McConnell is actively blocking this legislation in the Senate.

If you believe that your insurance company should have to cover your preventative and emergency care, and that they shouldn’t be able to kick you off your plan just because you get diagnosed with cancer or get into a car accident, then it’s time to speak up against junk plans.

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