Congresswoman Lee & Health Care Providers Warn of Consequences of ACA Tax Credit Expiration
Click HERE for video of the press conference
LAS VEGAS, NV – Today, at Southern Hills Hospital, Congresswoman Susie Lee (NV-03) joined HCA Far West Division President Jackie Van Blaricum, Southern Hills Hospital Chief of Surgery Dr. Mark Glyman, and Southern Hills Hospital Chief Nursing Officer Courtney Ogle to sound the alarm on the looming expiration of ACA tax credits thousands of Nevadans rely on. If the tax credits are not extended, health insurance premiums will skyrocket for working families across the country, including 85,000 Nevadans who utilize these credits to afford their health care—30,000 of whom live in Nevada’s 3rd Congressional District.
“The ACA Enhanced Premium Tax Credits are a lifeline for working families, helping 85,000 Nevadans afford their health care,” said Congresswoman Susie Lee. “Allowing these credits to expire will only exacerbate our state’s health care crisis and increase costs for ALL Nevadans.”
“The Sunrise Health System, which includes Sunrise Hospital, Sunrise Children’s Hospital, MountainView Hospital and Southern Hills Hospital, is the largest provider of complex, life-saving care in the state of Nevada,” said HCA Healthcare Far West Division President Jackie Van Blaricum. “If Enhanced Premium Tax Credits aren’t extended, we could have tens of thousands of our patients losing coverage and therefore access to critical care.”
“Every day, I see patients living on the edge, struggling with head and neck cancer, facial deformities, and debilitating pain,” said Dr. Mark Glyman, Chief of Surgery at Southern Hills Hospital. “Many rely on limited insurance just to afford basic medicine or care. If that support disappears, where will they go?”
“For years, I’ve cared for the tiniest among us, the fragile NICU babies who needed constant, life-saving attention,” said Courtney Ogle, Chief Nursing Officer at Southern Hills Hospital. “As nurses, our greatest responsibility is to provide vital care and to be the voice for our patients. Today, I stand with newborns, children, adults, and seniors alike because every patient at our bedside matters.”
Last week, Congresswomen Lee and Kristen McDonald Rivet (MI-08) led three dozen of their House Democratic colleagues in a letter urging Congressional leadership to immediately extend ACA Enhanced Premium Tax Credits. The full letter is available here.
ACA Enhanced Premium Tax Credits in Nevada:
- Washington Republicans’ budget reconciliation bill failed to extend Affordable Care Act tax credits that help 85,000 Nevadans afford their health care—30,000 of whom live in Nevada’s 3rd Congressional District.
- If Congress allows the ACA tax credits to expire:
- Marketplace enrollees will pay $335 billion in higher premiums over the next ten years.
- Families who receive ACA tax credits will see an average tax increase of $4,051 in 2027.
- A 60-year-old couple in NV-03 earning about $80,000/year would see their premiums increase by more than $12,000 (a 178% increase).
- A family of four earning $64,000 would see their premiums increase by over $2,500 (a 191% increase)
- As a result of these tax credits, nearly nine out of 10 Nevadans who enrolled in insurance through Nevada Health Link were eligible to receive financial support to help bring down the cost of monthly premiums.
Above: (L to R) HCA Healthcare Far West Division President Jackie Van Blaricum, Congresswoman Susie Lee, Southern Hills Hospital Chief of Surgery Dr. Mark Glyman, and Southern Hills Hospital Chief Nursing Officer Courtney Ogle
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