Pawlenty Decries High Premiums, Forgets He Supported Tax Bill That is Causing Them

Pawlenty Supported GOP Tax Bill That is Jacking Up Premiums

Yesterday, Tim Pawlenty took to twitter to lament rising healthcare premiums as a “big burden” for Minnesota families. And while rising health care costs are a huge problem, it’s hard to take Pawlenty’s concern seriously when he also threw his support behind the GOP tax bill that is causing rates to skyrocket.
That’s right. Just a few short months ago, when he was still making millions as the mouthpiece for Wall Street, Pawlenty publicly pushed lawmakers to pass the GOP tax bill despite the fact that it would gut the Affordable Care Act provisions designed to keep premiums lower.
Don’t take our word for it. President Trump’s former HHS secretary Tom Price admitted last week that the GOP tax bill caused premiums to go up. And Pawlenty had plenty of warning while the tax debate was going on. The CBO clearly laid out that the tax bill would cause premiums to increase. So if Tim Pawlenty wants to find someone to blame for higher health care costs, he should start by looking in a mirror.
The GOP tax bill wasn’t the first time Pawlenty attacked health care in Minnesota. The state’s uninsured rate rosefrom 6.1%  in 2001, to 9.1% by 2009, largely because of the cuts he made to state health care programs as governor.
“Tim Pawlenty should spare us his phony concern for Minnesotans’ rising health care costs,” said DGA Deputy Communications Director David Turner. “Pawlenty made millions shilling for Wall Street, and pushed policies that are jacking up premiums for Minnesota families. Pawlenty is far more worried about pleasing his special interest buddies than actually lowering health care costs in Minnesota.”