SEN DICK DURBIN: Democrats fighting to protect healthcare while Trump, Republicans play shutdown games
Starting next year, my constituent, Tammy of Woodhull, Illinois, will see her healthcare premiums rise by nearly $600 per month.
Ingrid, of Springfield, is a disabled retiree currently battling cancer. She now faces a tough choice: pay $1,400 a month in premiums and copays and cut back on other essentials or go without healthcare coverage altogether.
And Melanie, of Elmhurst, is a small business owner who relies on the Affordable Care Act for coverage. She says the out-of-pocket costs for the same plan next year are "unaffordable, plain and simple."
Tammy, Ingrid and Melanie’s challenge is the same one Americans across this country – in blue and red states alike – face. Why? I’ll tell you.
IS CONGRESS STOPPING MILLIONS FROM SAVING $4,600 ON CHEAPER HEALTH INSURANCE PLANS?
During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, and with the support of a Democratic Congress, President Joe Biden signed into law the American Rescue Plan which, among several provisions, provided for enhanced ACA premium tax credits. These tax credits opened the door for millions of hardworking Americans to enroll in affordable health insurance.
But these tax credits are set to expire at the end of the year. And, if they do, more than 20 million people will see their premiums skyrocket—doubling, tripling and even quadrupling in some cases. Four million more Americans will lose their coverage outright.
It doesn’t seem to matter to congressional Republicans that the top 10 states that could see the highest premium increases are red states. What matters to my Republican colleagues is loyalty to the president.
The solution, then, is simple: extend these tax credits and protect health care for millions of Americans. But, unfortunately, Republicans – at the direction of President Donald Trump – have refused to negotiate. And they’re dug in on this. So much so that, 23 days ago, they decided to shut down the government rather than address this crisis.
DEMOCRATS CHEER 'NO KINGS' PROTESTS, BUT LET SHUTDOWN DEVASTATE FAMILIES
For nearly two weeks, USDA has stopped financial assistance for the soybean farmers in downstate Illinois who have struggled because Trump’s China tariffs closed their largest market for months. Air traffic control and TSA agents are stretched to their limits amid staffing shortages. And families across the country are seeing their SNAP benefits paused thanks to a lapse in federal funding. Come Nov. 1, this will be a reality for nearly 2 million Illinoisans who rely on SNAP.
Let me reiterate: this is a crisis they – President Trump and congressional Republicans – created.
In July, on a party-line vote, President Trump signed into law his so-called "big, beautiful bill," which cut $1 trillion from programs like Medicaid. Now, 10 million people will lose their healthcare coverage, and 300 rural hospitals face closure. This, stacked on top of those set to lose out because of these expiring ACA credits, constitutes a five-alarm fire for working people across this country.
Republicans are fine ballooning the national debt to permanently extend the Trump tax cuts for the rich but draw the line at even a temporary extension of ACA credits so that hardworking Americans living paycheck-to-paycheck can access the care they need.
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Democrats are fighting to protect healthcare for all Americans – no matter where they live or how they voted. That’s why we sat at the table for months prior to the government funding deadline ready to hammer out a bipartisan package.
Instead, Republicans barreled us into a shutdown. Now, more than ever, Democrats remain ready to engage in serious negotiations. But we’ve yet to have a serious partner in that effort.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., has refused to meet with Democrats. Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has kept the House out of session and out of town. And President Trump, when not posting memes that mock Democrats’ efforts to end this shutdown, has returned to his usual antics: deflect, blame and scapegoat.
I remember a time in the United States Senate when we worked across the aisle on a bipartisan basis.
It is past time for Speaker Johnson to end the House’s prolonged vacation and bring his members back to Washington so that they can do the job they were elected to do. The time for Republicans to sit down with Democrats and negotiate a solution to this problem is now.