{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.reed.senate.gov/news/releases/as-trump-makes-health-care-less-affordable-and-accessible-reed-works-to-bring-down-health-costs_put-people-first", "As Trump Makes Health Care Less Affordable & Accessible, Reed Works to Bring Down Health Costs & Put People First", "2026-09-08", "2026", "2026-09", "Democrat", "Senate", "RI", "Jack Reed", "R000122", "www.reed.senate.gov", "jackreed", "https://www.reed.senate.gov/news/releases", "scraper", "WARWICK, RI \u2013 As the negative impacts of President Trump\u2019s damaging economic policies ripple across the U.S. health care system, more Americans are losing their health insurance, health prices are going up, and more health systems are weakening -- leading to longer wait times and higher costs for patients. U.S. Senator Jack Reed says it is time to break that cycle and offered a prescription for reinvesting in America\u2019s health care system and lowering costs.\n\nAs Congress battles over the future of Medicaid and affordable health insurance, Senator Reed today joined officials from Comprehensive Community Action Program (CCAP), HealthSource RI, Protect Our Care, and community partners for a tour of CCAP\u2019s Everett C. Wilcox Health Center located on Buttonwoods Avenue.\n\nThe 24,695-square foot facility offers health and wellness services to thousands of patients and includes medical and dental providers on site. In 2024, Senator Reed delivered a $1 million federal earmark to help expand the facility to its current size and provide integrated health services to more Rhode Islanders, including primary care, dental care, social work, mental and behavioral health and substance treatment, all within the same location.\n\nDuring the visit, Senator Reed met with health professionals, patients, and staff and held a media availability to discuss his efforts to make health care more affordable and the challenges caused by President Trump\u2019s unwelcome health care spending cuts, which have led to surging insurance costs and coverage losses due to Trump\u2019s Medicaid rollbacks.\n\nResearch from Protect Our Care shows over 25,000 Rhode Islanders have lost Medicaid or CHIP coverage since the so-called One Big Beautiful Bill Act was passed by Republicans on a party-line vote and signed into law by President Trump last summer. Another 2,000 dropped marketplace coverage after President Trump and Congressional Republicans killed ACA tax credits and caused premiums to surge.\n\nNationwide, deductibles for health insurance plans on the Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace increased by $1,027, on average.\n\n\u201cPresident Trump\u2019s policies are driving up the cost of health care and shifting heavier financial burdens on to working families and state budgets. We\u2019ve got to make health care affordable again so people can get the care they need, when they need it. If people can\u2019t afford to see a doctor to fill a prescription they end up delaying or skipping care, which has significant impacts down the line on both health outcomes and cost,\u201d said Senator Reed. \u201cI strongly support undoing Trump\u2019s Medicaid cuts, reviving ACA credits, and taking the next steps on commonsense reforms that can help negotiate lower prescription drug prices, cut out the special interest middlemen, and reduce barriers to care, needless paperwork and red tape. President Trump needs to finally learn that affordability is not a hoax \u2013 it is the number one issue facing the majority of American families and Congress needs to listen and act.\u201d\n\nReed notes that instead of prioritizing effective, data-driven care, the Trump Administration routinely sides with insurers and pharmaceutical companies over patients and their doctors.\n\nLast year, the Trump Administration and Congressional Republicans ripped away health care tax credits from millions of Americans and cut Medicaid by nearly $1 trillion in order to give the ultra-wealthy a bigger tax windfall. As a result, Affordable Care Act (ACA) disenrollments surged 33.6 percent after federal subsidies lapsed. In Rhode Island, enrollment in HealthSource RI has declined by approximately 8.2 percent over the last year and average monthly premiums have risen 15 percent to $647, according to the latest data from the State Marketplace Network.\n\nThe Trump Administration\u2019s reckless health care policies continue to drive up health care premiums for all -- employer health costs are expected to see some of the sharpest increase in 20 years. They are pushing thousands of Rhode Islanders off of their ACA-backed plans, contributing to declining enrollment, increasing concerns about access, and accelerating higher cost growth as fewer healthy people remain in the insurance pool.\n\n\u201cHealthSource RI customers are facing enormous pressure as our state navigates the changes in federal regulation and law that have restricted access and financial assistance for marketplace coverage,\u201d said Lindsay Lang, director of HealthSource RI. \u201cWhile local solutions like the newly created Rhode Island Marketplace Affordability Program will help many in 2027, we need a comprehensive federal solution to ensure affordability and access across the board.\u201d\n\nSenator Reed says the Trump Administration\u2019s moves to take away people\u2019s health insurance is leading to a surge in plan costs, resulting in even more people being unable to pay their premiums.\n\n\u201cIt is time for the Trump Administration and Congressional Republicans to help make health care more affordable and accessible by reinstating the ACA tax credits for working Americans and giving patients and families greater control over their own health care decisions. It is time to reverse the Trump Administration\u2019s health cuts that put profits over patients and restore healthy competition in the health care marketplace; address inefficiencies in the health care system and supply chain; and lower the cost of health services and prescription drugs,\u201d said Senator Reed, noting there are many steps the Trump Administration can quickly take to help lower health prices and improve patient care, including:\n\n\u2022 Ending price gouging by health insurers,\n\n\u2022 Breaking up anti-competitive industry consolidation that breeds monopolies,\n\n\u2022 Using bulk purchasing power of Medicaid to lower prescription drug costs,\n\n\u2022 Trimming administrative costs and improving price transparency, and\n\n\u2022 Promoting health care innovation.\n\nSenator Reed has already cosponsored several legislative proposals to achieve these goals, including the Protecting Health Care and Lowering Costs Act (S. 2556); the Healthy Families Act (S.3869); the Medicare Cost Cap Act (S.4886); and the Restoring Essential Healthcare Act(S.2524) and others that aim to lower healthcare costs and protect coverage.\n\nReed also said the federal government needs to invest wisely in facilities like the Wilcox Health Center that offers accessible, high-quality, affordable primary care, dental care, and mental health support.\n\nNational health care spending now surpasses $5.3 trillion, and nearly a quarter of every U.S. health care dollar goes to administrative costs -- far higher than any other country or industry -- and much of this spending does nothing to improve patient health. Reducing the administrative burden by leveraging new smart technology; improving data management; and more effectively collaborating across stakeholders can save payers, providers, and the federal government alike.", 1, "2026-09-11T09:25:29Z", "2026-09-11T09:27:08Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.reed.senate.gov/news/releases/as-trump-makes-health-care-less-affordable-and-accessible-reed-works-to-bring-down-health-costs_put-people-first"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 2.2135928738862276, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}