WASHINGTON — On the first day of the 2021 Affordable Care Act (ACA) open enrollment period, U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) encouraged Illinoisans to sign up for quality, affordable health insurance on the marketplace today, emphasizing that most patients qualify for subsidies that ensure premiums are less than $75 per month, and highlighting the additional plan options and lower premiums for consumers this year. Durbin and Duckworth also slammed President Trump and Congressional Republicans for their continued attempts to repeal and sabotage health care coverage provided by the Affordable Care Act, including putting millions of Americans’ health care at risk during a pandemic by attempting to strike down the law in the Supreme Court. Approximately 293,000 Illinoisans selected health insurance through the marketplace this year.

“Despite the chaos caused by Republicans in Washington, the Affordable Care Act is here to provide the peace of mind of quality health insurance, which is so important during the COVID-19 pandemic. We encourage all Illinoisans who need health insurance through the marketplace to sign up today,” Durbin said. “Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, the uninsured rate in Illinois was cut in half and one million Illinoisans gained coverage. But if President Trump and Republicans have their way in court, insurers will once again be able to discriminate against patients with pre-existing conditions and impose arbitrary caps on benefits, millions could be thrown off their health insurance, and families nationwide could pay more for their health care. Senator Duckworth and I will continue fighting for the future of the Affordable Care Act and quality, affordable health insurance for all Americans.”

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“Though the Trump Administration has tried time and again to rip healthcare away from millions of Americans, the Affordable Care Act is still the law of the land and continues to provide Illinoisans with affordable and high-quality health coverage, which is especially important during a COVID-19 pandemic that Trump and his enablers have only made worse,” Duckworth said. “As open enrollment season begins, I’m pleased to join Senator Durbin in urging any Illinoisan who wants health coverage through the marketplace to look into this year’s expanded, lower-cost options and to sign up if they find a plan that’s right for them. Hardworking people across the country rely on the Affordable Care Act for their care, and we cannot — and will not — stop working to protect our healthcare and prevent insurers from once again discriminating against the sick and those with pre-existing conditions.”

The 2021 open enrollment period runs from Sunday, November 1 through Tuesday, December 15, 2020. Illinoisans can find additional information about securing health care through the marketplace here. Illinois residents who buy health insurance through the exchange will see lower prices and more choices this year.

The Affordable Care Act expanded health insurance to tens of millions of Americans, and provided health insurance protections for the millions more with pre-existing conditions, including those with employer-based insurance. On November 10, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in a case in which Republican state Attorneys General and the Trump Administration are urging the Court to strike down the entire ACA. If the law were eliminated, more than 600,000 Illinoisans would lose their health coverage and insurers would once again be able to deny care, or charge higher premiums, to people with pre-existing conditions.

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