New York elected officials raised awareness on Sunday about the impending expiration of federal tax credits that could result in Americans paying more for their healthcare.
On the morning of Oct. 5, US Rep. Nydia Velázquez, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, and other members of the New York Congressional Delegation rallied at City Hall to urge the federal government to extend the Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as Obamacare, tax credits, despite the ongoing government shutdown.
“ACA tax credits help millions of Americans afford health care,” the Democratic politicians wrote in a press release. “If Congress does not act, thousands of families in New York will see their premiums rise sharply and many could lose coverage altogether.”
Jeffries expanded on the issue during an appearance on Sunday’s “Meet the Press” on NBC.
“As Democrats, our view is that we will find bipartisan common ground with our Republican colleagues to reopen the government to actually pass a spending bill that meets the needs of the American people, but we have to decisively address this Republican healthcare crisis that is devastating hardworking American taxpayers.”
Democrats are advocating for an expansion of the tax credits, which are set to expire at the end of the year.
Trump administration members have accused the Democratic base of “trying to give healthcare benefits to illegal aliens,” as U.S. Vice President JD Vance recently told reporters. Undocumented individuals, however, are not eligible for federal healthcare benefits, and the Democrats’ healthcare push does not seek to change that policy.
Jeffries rebutted that claim by saying Republicans are “losing in the court of public opinion” as it relates to current events.
“We are standing up for the healthcare of hardworking American taxpayers, working-class Americans, middle-class Americans, and everyday Americans who have seen over the last several months Republicans pass their one big ugly bill, the largest cut to Medicaid in American history,” the Brooklyn Democrat said, pointing out that medical facilities, such as nursing homes and clinics, will close across the country without an extension of the ACA tax credits.
“If Republicans continue to refuse to extend ACA tax credits, tens of millions of American taxpayers are going to experience dramatically increased premiums, co-pays, and deductibles,” Jeffries said. “That information from their insurance companies is going out right now.”
He also said Democrats are not working to change a federal law that prohibits the expenditure of taxpayer money to fund healthcare for undocumented immigrants.
If the tax credits were to expire, families earning a modest income would have to shell out thousands of dollars more for healthcare, Jeffries explained.
A married couple making $88,000 a year who pays around $8,000 a year for health insurance would wind up paying triple that amount if the tax credits expire, according to the Congress member.
Republicans in Congress have said there will be time to negotiate about the ACA tax credits because they do not expire until December 31.
Kush Desai, a White House spokesperson, accused Democrats of facilitating the shutdown, even though Republicans have majority control of the House and Senate; the government shutdown happened because a stopgap spending bill in the Senate failed to pass a filibuster vote requiring a 60-vote supermajority of Republicans and Democrats.
Meanwhile, according to an article in The Hill, insurance companies are already preparing paperwork for open enrollment, which is scheduled to begin on Nov. 1 in most states.
The article notes that premiums could more than double if insurers believe the tax credits will expire.
