Today, U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor (FL14) issued the following statement on the Trump Administration’s latest sabotage of the health care of American families – devastating cuts to outreach efforts for the upcoming ACA marketplace open enrollment season:

“President Trump's sabotage of affordable health care for hardworking families is cruel and misguided. Consumers want lower costs, affordable choices and a healthy insurance market. His decision to slash outreach and marketing is a bad business decision too. Thanks to previous outreach efforts, Floridians led the nation in sign-ups through HealthCare.gov and the Affordable Care Act. The ACA is here to stay, but it needs updating, not sabotage.

“This announcement comes just two months before open enrollment begins, and I urge my colleagues to join Democrats in stabilizing the marketplaces for 2018, including by guaranteeing cost-sharing reduction payments and ensuring Americans looking for affordable coverage have access to full information.

“The Trump Administration's massive cuts to outreach and our "navigators" will hit the University of South Florida and partners particularly hard as USF consecutively won the largest navigator grants in the country over the past 2 years. We all must work together to ensure that Florida families are not left in the lurch. Open enrollment runs Nov. 1 to Dec. 15.”

U.S. Rep. Castor serves as Vice Ranking Member of the U.S. House Energy & Commerce Committee, and helped to draft the Affordable Care Act to ensure it works for families and businesses. Since ACA enrollment started in 2013, Florida has led the nation in the number of sign-ups on healthcare.gov – last year 1.7 million Floridians enrolled in the Affordable Care Act.

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