A bipartisan group of eight governors — spearheaded by Govs. John Kasich and John Hickenlooper — sent a letter to congressional leadership asking for immediate measures to help stabilize the health insurance markets.
Included in their seven-page letter is a request that President Donald Trump continue the individual mandate and cost sharing reduction (CSR) payments to the insurance companies.
In the letter dated Wednesday, Kasich, R-Ohio, and Hickenlooper, D-Colorado, — along with one other Republican, one independent and four Democrats — asked the leadership from both houses to take three "immediate steps to make coverage more stable and affordable."
Those steps:
- Immediate federal action to stabilize markets.
- Responsible reforms that preserve recent coverage gains and control costs.
- An active federal/state partnership.
In addition to ensuring the CSR payments through 2019, the governors also want Congress to set up a "temporary stability fund" at $15 billion annually for at least for two years.
In addition to keeping the individual mandate, the governors think convincing younger and healthier individuals to pay for insurance they don't need is a worthy endeavor.
"Encouraging younger, healthier people to enroll in insurance and educating Americans about the importance of coverage can help improve the risk pool. The federal government should continue to fund outreach and enrollment efforts that encourage Americans to sign up for insurance. Many states invest in similar efforts, and all states need the federal government’s support to maximize participation from younger, healthier people," the letter read.
The other six governors who joined Kasich and Hickenlooper in signing the letter:
- Steve Bullock, D-Montana.
- John Bel Edwards, D-Louisiana.
- Terry McAuliffe, D-Virginia.
- Brian Sandoval, R-Nevada.
- Bill Walker, I-Alaska.
- Tom Wolf, D-Pennsylvania.
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