Kelly Presses Trump for Action to Lower Health Care Costs for Arizona Families

"In the wealthiest country in the world, parents should be able to take their kids to the doctor and seniors should be able to pay for their prescription drugs."

Today, Arizona Senator Mark Kelly raised concerns with President Donald Trump and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. about how the Trump administration's actions on health care are driving up costs and reducing access to affordable care for families across Arizona and throughout the country, despite the president's promise that he would lower costs for working families "on day one."

In his letter, Kelly outlines how the Trump administration's decisions, including allowing enhanced Affordable Care Act tax credits to expire, cutting Medicaid, and pursuing tariff policies that risk increasing prescription drug prices, are making it harder and more expensive for families to get the care they need, especially in rural and underserved communities. The letter urges the administration to take steps to mitigate the harm from these actions, lower costs, and make care more accessible for families across the country.

"You promised to lower costs for working families. Instead, your actions have increased out-of-pocket costs, weakened coverage, and exacerbated widespread staff shortages. While many healthcare professionals continue to serve tirelessly, they are strained by an overwhelmed system, particularly in rural and underserved areas. That makes it harder and more expensive to get care in those places at a time when families can least afford it," Kelly wrote.

Kelly pointed to rising insurance costs and the expiration of Affordable Care Act tax credits, warning that many Arizonans will be priced out of coverage or forced to pay higher deductibles and copays: "Insurance costs also continue to rise beyond the reach of many Arizonans. High premiums, high deductibles, and limited coverage options leave families exposed to crushing out-of-pocket costs. While the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has helped insure more people and made coverage more affordable for working families, there is still a lot more work to do. In Arizona, hundreds of thousands of people rely on ACA marketplace plans to access coverage they could not otherwise afford. The expiration of enhanced ACA tax credits will only further increase costs and make coverage less accessible. Many Arizonans will be priced out of coverage altogether, while others will be forced to pay higher deductibles and copays. When people delay or skip care because of cost, people get sicker and long-term expenses increase for everyone. Despite that, you have allowed the ACA tax credits to expire for millions of Americans, causing their health care costs to skyrocket."

The senator further raised alarm over Trump's deep cuts to Medicaid, which nearly two million Arizonans rely on for their health care, particularly in rural and Tribal communities: "Nearly two million Arizonans rely on Medicaid for health coverage-including more than 750,000 children, over 72,000 seniors and people with long-term care needs, and hundreds of thousands of low-income adults. In some rural and tribal counties, nearly half of all residents are enrolled in Medicaid. Despite this, your administration made some of the largest cuts to Medicaid in U.S. history."

Kelly also emphasized the growing vulnerability of rural hospitals and community health centers across Arizona: "Rural hospitals and community health centers, which depend heavily on Medicaid funding, are especially vulnerable to these disruptions. Hospital closures in rural communities have resulted in dangerous gaps in emergency and specialized services, increased travel times, reduced access to care, and ultimately higher costs for families. […] The loss of these hospitals would not only increase health care costs but also eliminate some of the largest sources of jobs and investment in rural communities. It would also weaken local supply chains and limit the economic opportunities that help keep families and businesses in these areas. We should be giving rural hospitals the tools and workforce they need to keep delivering care to our communities, not taking them away."

Kelly concluded his letter by underscoring the urgency of action to lower costs and protect access to care: "Improving the affordability and availability of healthcare is not just a political issue-it is a moral imperative. Getting this done is critical to ensuring that every American, regardless of income or geography, can get and afford the care they need."

Click here to read the full letter.