(COLORADO) — U.S. Senator John Hickenlooper joined five people from across Colorado on Friday, Oct. 17, in a virtual conversation about the impacts that cuts to Medicaid and the expiration of the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) tax credits could have on Coloradans statewide.
The central talking point of the meeting was the skyrocketing costs of insurance coverage, private and government-provided alike, in the face of President Donald Trump’s budget bill, which made sharp cuts in healthcare spending. Even Coloradans who have private insurance, not provided by an employer plan, are at risk of seeing a steep increase in their rates.
In the meeting, Senator Hickenlooper opened the floor to five people from Colorado, ranging from state employees to a stay-at-home mom and tech worker. All of whom expressed their heightened concerns about the loss of the ACA Premium Tax Credits.
CJ Miller, a worker in the tech sector from Conifer, worried that even with his private insurance, he would not be able to afford the over $1,000 a month it would cost to insure his family. He even went as far as to say he might even need to pull his kids out of sports out of fear of not being able to afford an injury.
“I was furious, and I remain furious. We shouldn’t have to shut down the government just to stay alive,” Miller said when asked if he felt it was necessary for a government shutdown to address issues like this.
Diane Schwindt, a state employee in Wellington, said that she already had to work an additional part-time job just to keep her bills paid, but the prospect of losing her benefits from Medicaid and ACA puts her at risk of losing everything.
“This isn’t politics,” Schwindt told Hickenlooper, “This is life or death. I don’t want to be homeless because of a car accident.”
According to the Colorado Division of Insurance, Colorado Springs’ individual market insurance rates will rise by 24.2% in 2026. The same study shows Grand Junction will get hit the worst, with a 38.4% increase.
Amid these price increases, at least 15 million Americans, almost 242,000 Coloradans, are at risk of losing health insurance due to cuts to Medicaid and ACA, according to an analysis by the Joint Economic Committee – Minority.
Studies from both the American Journal of Public Health and the American College of Physicians link a lack of insurance to a higher mortality rate.
“15 million Americans are expected to lose their healthcare because of those cuts between the Medicaid cuts and ACA curtailments. Probably 20 million additional Americans, their premiums are going to increase. In many cases, their rates will go up 25, 40, 50, 100%, and even more,” said Hickenlooper.
