BlueCross BlueShield and MVP Announce Huge Rate Hikes for Vermont Families
WASHINGTON, Oct. 15 — Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) today warned that the Republican plan to eliminate subsidies for Affordable Care Act coverage will cause massive health insurance premium hikes for tens of thousands of Vermonters.
According to new data released today by the Vermont Health Connect exchange, if subsidies are not extended, Vermonters could face devastating premium increases starting in January.
“A family of four earning $129,000 a year in Burlington who gets their health care from MVP would see their premiums nearly quadruple — from more than $900 per month today to more than $3,600 per month,” Sanders said. “Then add the $10,000 out-of-pocket limit and the $3,500 deductible. In other words, that family could pay nearly $55,000 a year for health care. That is not just absurd, that is unconscionable.”
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Sanders also pointed to the impact in other parts of the state: “In Bennington, a couple in their 60s earning $85,000 a year now pays about $830 a month in premiums for their BlueCross BlueShield health care. Next year, without these subsidies, they’d pay more $3,000 a month. Add the deductible and other costs, and they’ll spend nearly half their income — more than $40,000 — on health care. Who can afford that?”
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Sanders said these examples illustrate what this government shutdown is all about: “I will not vote to substantially raise health care costs in Vermont for tens of thousands of people. I will not vote to throw 45,000 Vermonters off of their health care. That’s what the shutdown debate is all about.”
