(Washington, D.C.) - Today, ahead of the one year anniversary since the American Rescue Plan was signed into law, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, released the following statement on the record number of Americans seeing lower health costs because of the health care tax credits she pushed to include in the legislation.
“Thanks to the American Rescue Plan Democrats passed a year ago, millions of people in my home state and across the country are saving thousands of dollars this year on their health care premiums. A record number of people got quality, affordable coverage through the national health care exchange during open enrollment-and the overwhelming majority of them found coverage that cost no more per month than a movie ticket.
“The American Rescue Plan was a huge step in the right direction when it comes to lowering families’ health care costs-but it’s far from the last one Democrats want to take. I’m continuing to push to extend these tax credits that are already putting money back in the pockets of so many people, close the coverage gap in states that have yet to expand Medicaid, bring down drug prices through Medicare negotiation, and cap insulin costs at $35 a month."
According to data released by the Biden Administration earlier this year, the health care exchanges saw record numbers of people get quality, affordable health coverage during the recent open enrollment period-with 14.5 million people getting coverage through the national exchange. These consumers saved, on average, $2,400 a year on their health care premiums-with four in five consumers finding coverage for less than $10 a month. Washington state saw a similar impact, with a record 240,000 people getting coverage through the state marketplace. In Washington state, support from the American Rescue Plan has meant that around two in five customers have coverage for less than $100 a month, and 46,000 people are covered for less than $10 a month.
