Annapolis, MD—Larry Hogan is up on the air with another misleading ad about Ben Jealous’ Medicare-for-All plan today—the latest panicked assault by Hogan and the Republican Governors Association’s (RGA,) who are worried about Marylanders’ support for affordable health care and controlling prescription drug prices. Under Governor Hogan, healthcare premiums have gone up 120%, and he opposed efforts to lower prescription drug prices.
Hogan and his allies are funded by the very people profiting from skyrocketing medical costs for consumers. Health insurance companies and Big Pharma are so afraid of Jealous’ vision for Maryland that they have donated more than $8 million to Hogan and his allies to run a smear campaign against Medicare-for-All.
“Of course Larry Hogan and the RGA are trying to mislead voters about Ben Jealous’ plan to lower healthcare costs in Maryland—the governor’s campaign is funded by the very people who profit from the status quo,” said Maryland Democratic Party Chair Kathleen Matthews. “The truth is: under Hogan, healthcare premiums for working families in Maryland have more than doubled while the governor watched Donald Trump sabotage Marylanders’ healthcare. This latest political ad is more proof Larry Hogan’s priorities are wrong for Maryland, and he has become just another politician working for his corporate backers.”
The truth is – even using the cost figure for Medicare-for-All pushed by Republicans shows that Jealous’ plan is a better deal for Marylanders. Data from the Kaiser Family Foundation show that healthcare premiums have skyrocketed under Larry Hogan, with the average benchmark premium costing Marylanders $5,844 each year – a sum they will no longer have to pay under Medicare for All.
While the cost figure used by Hogan to attack Jealous’ plan does not fully take into account the savings from Medicare for All, a fact acknowledged by the Baltimore Sun’s editorial board, even this estimate would result in savings of thousands of dollars a year for Marylanders coming out to an average cost of roughly $2,800 – less than half of the current $5,844.