The majority of my patients in the emergency department are age 50 and older. This bill's age tax will devastate Americans ages 50 to 64 who have worked their whole lives, planned for retirement, and now are wondering how they will make ends meet. The age tax will force older Americans to pay premiums up to five times higher than others, no matter how healthy they are, no matter how responsibly they have lived, making coverage too expensive, and forcing them to be uninsured. For example, Rex, from my district, wrote me that he was worried about choosing between affordable insurance or saving for his retirement. Insurance for older Americans like Rex will be too expensive, leaving them uninsured when they need coverage the most. Under this bill, a 64-year-old like Rex, with an income of $26,500, in the individual market, will pay up to $14,000 for health insurance. That is more than half of their income on premiums alone, leaving little for food, for medicine, rent, and other basic necessities. I stand with our older Americans, and I urge everyone, Democrats and Republicans, to stand with older Americans. Put ideology, partisanship, and politics aside and do the right thing.
On the recordMarch 24, 2017
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