Fedorchak votes to lower health care costs, expand affordable coverage options

Washington, D.C. - Congresswoman Julie Fedorchak (R-N.D.) today voted in favor of the Lower Health Care Premiums for All Americans Act, legislation to lower prescription drug costs, reduce premiums through Cost-Sharing Reductions (CSRs), expand Association Health Plans, protect access to employer-sponsored insurance, and empower patients to make better health care decisions.

"The so-called Affordable Care Act failed to live up to its name. Fifteen years later, Americans are struggling with skyrocketing premiums, fewer options, and a broken system defined by fraud and abuse," Fedorchak said. "The Lower Health Care Premiums for All Americans Act begins unwinding this broken model and gives working Americans a real path to affordable coverage. Our goal is a health care system that puts patients first and meets their needs with greater access, more choices, lower costs, and good-quality care."

The Democrat-led 'Affordable Care Act' has failed to deliver on its core promise of affordability. The average premiumfor single coverage is $9,325 per year, while the average premium for family coverage is nearly $27,000.

In 2026 alone, health insurance on the ACA marketplace is rising 26 percent. At the same time, insurance revenues have increased from $245 billion when Obamacare was first passed to $1.4 trillion in 2023. Moreover, a recent reportfrom the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office (GAO) found rampant waste, fraud, and abuse in the ACA marketplace. According to a JEC study, phantom enrollees now make up 35 percentof marketplace enrollees.

The Lower Health Care Premiums for All Americans Act offers commonsense solutions to lower premium costs, expand access to quality care, provide every American with more options and flexibility, and bring greater transparency to America's health care system.

Specifically, the legislation:

Lowers Prescription Drug Costs

• Saves taxpayers $1.9 billion by reducing health care premiums for millions of American workers.

• Cracks down on middlemen by requiring pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) to be transparent with employers, empowering small businesses to negotiate better deals and lower drug costs for workers.

• PBMs would be required to report each drug dispensed by an employer's health plan, at what cost each drug was dispensed, how many participants for each drug, and the amount of rebates or other fees that are incurred because of each drug.

Lowers premium costs through Cost-Sharing Reductions (CSRs)

• Appropriates cost-sharing reduction payments to stabilize the broken system and individual market.

• Reduces out-of-pocket costs like deductibles and copays.

• Lowers ACA Marketplace premiums by 11 percent, around double the premium reduction compared to extending the Democrats' temporary COVID credits.

• Saves patients as much as $1,871 each year across the country and saves the American taxpayers $36.7 billion.

• Reduces hidden premium increases caused by "silver loading." Lowers costs for workers and small business owners who don't qualify for subsidies.

Expands Association Health Plans (AHPs)

• Lets small businesses and self-employed workers team up to expand choices and lower premiums by up to 30 percent.

• Strengthens bargaining power for small business owners and independent workers by giving them access to group rates, more provider networks, and alternatives to costly small-group or individual marketplace plans.

• Restores and codifies a 2018 executive order by President Trump-rescinded by the Biden Administration-that the Congressional Budget Office estimated would enroll 3.7 million Americans in Association Health Plans and extend coverage to 400,000 previously uninsured individuals.

Protects Access to Employer-Sponsored Insurance

• Allows employers who self-insure to continue offering affordable, customizable health coverage for their workers.

• Protects the ability for small businesses to purchase stop-loss insurance-a way for job creators to manage the cost of unexpected serious medical claims.

Strengthens CHOICE Arrangements

• CHOICE Arrangements (formerly ICHRAs) give workers more flexible options with transferable, tax-advantaged dollars to purchase the coverage that works best for them and pay premiums with pre-tax dollars.

• Codifies and strengthens a 2019 final rule by President Trump that allows employees to use tax-free money from their employer to purchase the health care plan of their own choice.

• 83 percent of employers using CHOICE Arrangements are offering health care benefits to their workers for the first time.