Once again, Governor Reynolds failed to show leadership on health care when she neglected to sign on to a letter from a group of bipartisan governors to Congress urging them to pass legislation to stabilize insurance markets.

“It’s absolutely ridiculous that Governor Reynolds has failed time and time again to be the leader Iowa deserves on health care,” said Iowa Democratic Party Chair Troy Price. “Her failure to advocate for the people of our state means Iowans will be paying more for less access to health care. And Iowa voters won’t forget.”

Republican Governors who did sign on to the letter include John Kasich (R-Ohio), Brian Sandoval (R-Nev.), Charlie Baker (R-Mass.), and Phil Scott (R-Vt.).

In 2018, Iowans will face a 57% increase in premiums because of the uncertainty caused by President Trump’s reluctance to maintain Cost Sharing Reduction payments (CSRs). It is anticipated that costs will only go up even more for Iowa families if a resolution is not reached soon.

Last week, President Trump signed an Executive Order ending CSR payments pending action from Congress. That action drew criticism from many including Republican Governors John Kasich of Ohio, Brian Sandoval of Nevada, and Charlie Baker of Massachusetts.

At a press conference yesterday, instead of standing up for the thousands of families jeopardized by Trumps’s actions, Reynolds praised the President for the Executive Order.

Reynolds has proposed a stopgap measure to put a band aid on this serious problem, but it was recently uncovered that, despite promises to do so, she failed to take the issue directly to President Trump when offered the chance. Allegedly, Trump later learned of the proposal from a newspaper article and personally called the DHS to kill the idea.