Candidates on both sides of the aisle are quoting premium hikes under the ACA as a reason for voters to elect them.
The Obama administration released figures Monday for the increases on the federal exchanges. The average increase in the benchmark silver plan is about 25 percent.
Donald Trump has used this news to again call for the repeal of the health reform law, in favor of health savings accounts and interstate insurance sales. He also claimed Tuesday on Fox News that the numbers put out by HHS were not true, The Hill reports.
"And the number of 25 percent is nothing," Mr. Trump said, according to The Hill. "That's a phony number, too, that's a lie, just like everything else." He also told Fox News his employees are not on the exchanges, according to the report. The clarification comes after mixed messages were given Tuesday morning. Mr. Trump told a crowd at an event at one of his resorts that his employees are "having a tremendous problem" with the ACA, a fact that was later disputed by the general manager of the resort, who said most employees at Trump's resort have employer-based health plans.
Hillary Clinton, on the other hand, has been pinpointing the premium hikes as a priority for her campaign. In an interview with radio station Hot 105 she said, "We're going to really tackle that, we're going to get co-pays and premiums and deductibles down, we're going to tackle prescription drug costs," The Hill reports.
She also defended the law and the gains it has made in expanding health insurance coverage, which would be lost if the law were repealed.
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