Springfield, IL— Seniors across Illinois deserve to know: Do Darin LaHood, Mike Bost and Mary Miller agree with Donald Trump’s new plan to raise monthly drug premiums and prescription drug costs for thousands of Illinoisans? This urgent question comes after the Trump administration announced they are ending Medicare Part D subsidies, an overwhelmingly popular program that has helped bring down health care costs for Illinoisans 65 and older. If Republicans get their way, millions of people will have to pay hundreds of dollars more per year for the prescriptions they rely on.
In response, the Democratic Party of Illinois Chair Lisa Hernandez released the following statement:
“Given Bost, LaHood and Miller’s cruel history of attacking affordable health care, seniors throughout Illinois deserve to know if they support Donald Trump’s extreme plan to jack up the cost of prescription drugs that they rely on. While Republicans do everything they can to make health care unaffordable, Illinois Democrats will always fight to protect Medicare while working to bring down health care costs across the board and make life more affordable.”
Illinois Republicans already have a dangerous history of supporting harmful cuts to healthcare. Trump and Republicans rammed through their Big Ugly Bill — the largest cut to health care in history — which was predicted to kick 470,000 Illinoisans off their health care. Republicans also refused to extend the popular enhanced Affordable Care Act (ACA) tax credits, which brought down premiums by an average of $542 for 395,850 people across the state. Now, premiums have skyrocketed and millions of Americans who enrolled in health insurance through HealthCare.gov were dropped from coverage this year for failing to pay their first month’s premium.
