Democrats want us to believe that the current government shutdown is all about them sticking up for the American people regarding healthcare costs.
I have repeatedly stated that I believed the GOP was willing to extend Democrats' desired Obamacare subsidies if it meant ending the shutdown.
Well, the GOP just put those subsidies on the table, and Democrat leadership balked at the deal, proving that their holdout decision is nothing more than a political stunt.
One of the first Republicans to break ranks on the issue of subsidies was Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA).
Greene backed the idea of leaving the subsidies in the budget to ensure healthcare costs would not skyrocket next year for American households. She stated, “The issues of the subsidies are real. It’s not something that anybody can say is made up.”
She continued, “Also, people with regular or private plans, their premiums are looking to go up a median of 18 percent, that’s brutal. I know a lot of small business owners, like a family of four, and they’re paying $2,000 a month.”
I can tell you that she is right, as my insurance premium for my current plan is slated to go up by about 30%, which would put my premium up over $1,000 for single coverage with a $10,000 deductible and $15,000 out-of-pocket max, which is ludicrous.
Greene is far from the only Republican who wanted to see these subsidies remain in the budget, but she is by far the most vocal.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) latched on to her comments, reading a post she made, which stated, “I’m going to go against everyone on this issue because when the tax credits expire this year my own adult children’s insurance premiums for 2026 are going to DOUBLE, along with all the wonderful families and hard-working people in my district.”
Schumer then stated, “So hold on to your hats,” Schumer continued in his floor remarks, after reading the post. “I think this is the first time I said this, but, on this issue, Representative Greene said it perfectly. Representative Greene is absolutely right.”
To be clear, the reason insurance premiums are so high in the first place is because of Obamacare, which sent them through the roof. But that is the system in place right now, so that is what we have, and until we can get a new healthcare system up and running, we need to work with this one and get the costs lowered as much as possible for those of us paying for it.
On Tuesday, reports broke that the GOP offered to extend the Obamacare subsidies for another year, which is, I believe, the best way to go. That way, if Republican lawmakers can come up with a better plan, Obamacare can be replaced, and if not, they can extend them again next year.
But when the plan was presented to Democrats, they balked, wanting the subsidies extended permanently. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) stated, “What world are these MAGA extremists living in right now to think that Democrats are going to go along with a one-year extension from a group of people, meaning the Republicans, who just permanently extended massive tax breaks for their billionaire donors?”
First, the narrative on the tax cuts has been debunked plenty of times already, so that is just an outright lie. But Jeffries just proved the standoff is nothing more than a political stunt on the Democrats' part. This agreement would have given them a full year to work out a new deal, but more importantly, it would have reopened the government. That, however, is not what Democrats really want.
They want to crush people financially in an effort to regain power. The longer the government is shut, the closer to the insurance rollover period we get, and the more people have to worry about how they are going to pay their Christmas bills. That is the chaos that Democrats just endorsed by rejecting this solution.
