Dupage Policy Journal

With average health care costs on the rise for workers and employers alike, congressional candidate Jeanne Ives (R-Wheaton) is intent on making the issue a central component of her battle against incumbent U.S. Rep. Sean Casten (D-Downers Grove) in the 6th District.

In a press release, Ives pointed to a recent Wall Street Journal report that found the average total cost of employer-provided health coverage grew to more than $20,000 for a family plan in 2019. Employees’ costs rose at an even faster rate, growing by an average of 8 percent or as high as $6,015.

The average deductible for single coverage, a cost workers pay out of their own pockets prior to any insurance benefits taking hold, also soared to $1,655 along with annual premiums, which were as high as $20,576 for an employer-provided family plan, according to the yearly poll of employers by the nonprofit Kaiser Family Foundation.

U.S. Rep. Sean Casten (D-Downers Grove)

“Like many of his Democrat-socialist colleagues, Rep. Casten has advocated moving to a Medicare for all-style plan that puts control of the health insurance market and the health care system under government control,” Ives said in the press release. “And that is the choice in this election: Do you think more government or more freedom is the best solution to your problems? On the issue of health care, the choice is clear.”

Ives argues that over the first four years following the enactment of Obamacare, premiums in most states went up as choices diminished. She added that in more than four out of every five counties across the country there are now no more than two health care plans available on the Obamacare exchange, leaving most consumers with fewer options when it comes to their doctor and health care network.