Just days ago, Havertown resident Lauri Cummings, a part-time real estate agent and church bookkeeper, finished radiation treatment for breast cancer.
Earlier this year, her husband had surgery to remove melanoma. Both cancers, she said, were detected relatively early, thanks to routine screenings.
Continued monitoring is recommended, but now the couple is debating whether they can even remain insured. Premiums for their plan through the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, are set to increase from $1,000 a month to nearly $2,000, Cummings said.
“Without the enhanced premium tax credits, we will probably not be able to afford the insurance next year,” she added. “And we’re really worried. It’s a scary thought.”
Cummings was among those who spoke at an event hosted Monday morning by U.S. Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon and POWER Action Fund, a progressive, interfaith coalition. They called on GOP leaders in Washington, D.C., to extend the enhanced ACA tax credits and reverse cuts to Medicaid included in President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The issue is at the core of the ongoing federal government shutdown, which began Oct. 1.
“This situation is not sustainable. It’s inhumane and it’s un-American,” said Scanlon, a Democrat whose district incorporates Delaware County and parts of South and Southwest Philadelphia, along with sections of Montgomery and Chester counties.
“Our Republican colleagues are in control of the House, the Senate and the White House,” she continued. “It’s time they come to the table and negotiate with Democrats and solve the health care crisis they have created.”
GOP leaders, in general, have asserted that health care discussions can proceed after a short-term funding proposal is adopted to reopen the government; however, Democrats are using their limited leverage to push to protect the programs.
Clergy from a variety of denominations joined Scanlon on Monday atop a stage at Salt & Light Community Church, located at 58th Street and Chester Avenue in Kingsessing.
“Every one of our faith traditions teaches that caring for the sick is a sacred responsibility, a sacred duty,” said the Rev. Gregory Edwards, POWER Action Fund’s executive director. “Yet these cuts violate that basic moral principle.”
The enhanced premium tax credits, which were rolled out four years ago, are set to expire at the end of this year.
Premiums are expected to rise an average of 82% – and more for older and rural residents – unless the credits are renewed, according to Pennie, Pennsylvania’s ACA marketplace. Individuals making around $60,000 a year or more and couples earning at least $82,000 will no longer qualify for any subsidies. The expiration threatens coverage for 270,000 people, more than half of Pennie’s enrollment, Gov. Josh Shapiro’s administration has said.
Changes to Medicaid, including the addition of a work requirement for certain participants, will result in millions of Americans going uninsured, according to an analysis from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.
“I’ve been clean for 27 years, and Medicaid is what made this possible,” said Lafayette Hamiter, a certified peer specialist who described himself as “an ecstatic recovering addict” during Monday’s news conference. “When Congress made cuts to programs like Medicaid, they are not just cutting the budget. They are cutting off hope.”
Dr. Max Cooper said many hospitals in the Philadelphia region rely on Medicaid dollars to remain open. He was serving as an emergency room physician at Crozer-Chester Medical Center when the Delaware County hospital closed in May.
“That hospital was a cornerstone of our community, and now it’s gone,” Cooper remarked Monday. “This is a growing trend across our commonwealth and across our country, and closed hospitals mean delays in care for our neighbors’ moments of greatest need.”
