The Republicans’ Solution to Jacking Up Your Health Insurance Premiums: Enroll in Crappy Coverage

Guest article by Jessica Schubel, Founder of Day One Strategies and former Special Assistant to the President for Health Care under President Biden

Over the last nine months, we have seen President Trump and Congressional Republicans make life unaffordable for working Americans. Prices continue to go up—from groceries to electric bills—things are much more expensive now. And things are only going to get worse thanks to the Republicans’ “One Big Beautiful Bill.” Don’t be fooled by their sound bites—this bill does anything but help hardworking families. Let me explain.

In 2021, President Biden and Democrats noticed that people were still having a hard time affording health insurance, so they enacted a law that helped lower premiums for millions of Americans who buy their own health insurance. Think of it like a big “coupon”—like the ones my mom and I used to cut out of the Sunday newspaper when I was growing up in rural western New York.

This health care “coupon” works a little bit differently than the ones you use at the grocery store, though. That’s because the federal government gives the coupon to your health plan before you pay your monthly premium, not after—like when you hand them over to the cashier at the checkout. So when you buy your health insurance, it’s already at the discounted price—no surprises when you’re at the checkout.

Not only do you know the price up front before you buy your health insurance, you always know what you’re buying. During the Biden administration, we made it easier for people to buy insurance. We made it clearer to see what benefits you were getting, and how much it was going to cost you out-of-pocket when you went to the doctor. We also made sure people weren’t hoodwinked into buying crappy coverage that left folks holding the bag at a time when they needed health insurance the most—like when you have emergency surgery.

When I worked at the White House, I was fortunate enough to meet Cory Dowd, a young man who bought cheap health insurance that he thought would protect him from catastrophic costs if he had a medical emergency. Despite his best intentions, he ended up buying a plan that refused to pay his hospital bills when he had to have his appendix removed. That’s because buried in the fine print of his plan documents, the plan said it would not pay for a surgery that cost more than $2,500. One has to ask, what kind of surgery costs less than that?!

You may be asking yourself, what’s the point of your story? Well, here it is: Republicans don’t want to renew the big health care coupons that nearly 22 million people get. Without continuing these coupons, premiums are going to go up by a whopping 75%. That means working families are going to have to pay about $700 more for their health coverage next year than they are now.

That’s a lot of money, especially at a time when prices for pretty much everything are going up. And the Republicans know this. They know that working families are going to have to pay more for their health care next year.

So what’s their solution? Their solution is to offer more crappy plans to people—like the one Cory bought. But this isn’t a solution. Yes, you may pay less up front, but what if you have an emergency? You may be left holding the bag for thousands of dollars for medical care that you thought was covered but isn’t.

Look, I get it. I know what it’s like to have to pinch pennies and make hard decisions about how you’re going to spend your money. When I started my business this year, there were times when I was worried I wasn’t going to be able to pay my mortgage if my clients didn’t pay me on time. But I always made sure that I had health insurance. You see, I have health conditions that require daily medicine and regular check-ins with my doctor—not having health insurance, or having crappy coverage that won’t be there when I need it, isn’t an option for me.

I love helping people. It’s a lesson I learned early on in Sunday school—it’s why I spent four years at the White House. And even though I no longer work there, I want to continue to help working families, which is why I’m writing this letter to you all.

Don’t be fooled by President Trump and Republicans’ bait and switch—tell them you want affordable, comprehensive health insurance. Not crappy stuff that will leave you high and dry or bankrupt at the end of the day.

Jessica Schubel is the Founder of Day One Strategies and former Special Assistant to the President for Health Care under President Biden.