With looming tax credits set to expire this year under the Biden Administration’s 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, Bucks County Commissioner and Democratic congressional candidate Bob Harvie slammed his opponent Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick for skipping town halls and not doing more to shore up health care costs for constituents.
“Bucks and Montgomery [county] families are opening letters right now warning them their healthcare premiums are about to skyrocket, and Brian Fitzpatrick is squarely to blame,” Harvie said in a press release.
The Inflation Reduction Act sunsets by the end of 2025, taking with it caps on drug prices and provisions for out of pocket spending caps as well as bonus incentive credits on things like clean energy and home energy efficiency purchases.
Harvie is running to oust Republican Fitzpatrick from his PA-01 congressional seat in next year’s midterm elections.
Harvie called on Fitzpatrick to “take immediate action to extend critical Affordable Care Act (ACA) tax credits that help working families afford their health care.”
“This is a fight constituents are begging us to take head on, but Fitzpatrick can’t be bothered to show up to do his job. This is not some abstract debate in Washington – its real money, its real costs coming out of real people’s pockets. It’s happening because politicians like Fitzpatrick are running away – literally and figuratively – from their responsibility,” Harvie said.
Pennie, the Pennsylvania official online marketplace for health and dental insurance plans formed under the Affordable Care Act, is a centralized platform for commonwealth residents to find and purchase health care plans if they are not covered by an employer or government program.
KFF, formerly the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, a non-partisan non-profit organization resource for national health data and analysis, noted some tax credits would stop for those enrolled in Pennie and make more than $60,000 for an individual; $82,000 for a couple. Premiums for those who continue to receive coverage could skyrocket.
“Pennie users across Pennsylvania’s First District are already receiving letters warning that their health care premiums will rise due to Fitzpatrick’s inaction. Pennie’s executive director [Devon Trolley] has warned that Pennsylvanians face ‘sticker shock,’ as monthly premiums are set to rise by as much as 300%,” said Harvie.
“Bucks and Montgomery families are opening letters right now warning them their healthcare premiums are about to skyrocket, and Brian Fitzpatrick is squarely to blame – it’s real money, it’s real costs coming out of real people’s pockets,” Harvie said.
Harvie criticized Fitzpatrick for “ditching Washington” and running away from his responsibility to address the looming “health care cost crisis” that his constituents face.
