Democrats Are Fighting to Protect Your Healthcare

To avoid a shutdown, Republicans must agree to protect every American's right to affordable healthcare

Photo by Gage Skidmore on Flickr (modified by author)

With a government rapidly approaching, Democratic leaders are digging in their heels against the president’s destructive agenda.

Their demands are simple: if Donald Trump and Mike Johnson want help to keep the government open past October 30, they must agree to protect every American’s right to affordable healthcare.

Without an immediate intervention by Congress, the current Republican spending plan will become a literal death sentence for working-class families in every state. Democrats cannot, and must not, agree to any stopgap funding measure that does not make compromises to protect Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

As the most pressing concern, pandemic-era ACA tax credits are set to expire at the end of the year, which, for the past several years, have kept healthcare affordable and accessible to millions of hard-working Americans. Unless these subsidies are made permanent, those who receive marketplace insurance will see a substantial rise in their premiums — even before the 2026 midterms.

The results would be catastrophic. The Kaiser Family Foundation estimates that monthly premiums will rise by an average of 75% for enrollees in the coming years, increasing to 90% in rural communities where associated cuts to Medicaid will result in widespread layoffs for medical professionals and shutter local hospitals.

Moreover, these effects would be felt immediately, starting next month. According to a report published by the office of Senator Maria Cantwell, the failure to extend ACA subsidies would result in 20% higher premiums for enrollees, at a minimum, during the upcoming open enrollment period.

Therefore, Congress cannot afford to table this issue any longer.

Unless it is addressed by the government spending deadline, millions of Americans will soon lose access to care and medicine they can reasonably afford. Likewise, once Trump’s Medicaid cuts go into full force at the beginning of 2027, our county will face a full-blown healthcare crisis, leaving a large portion of the adult population either uninsured or underinsured.

“We have to have a conversation with Republicans in order to work toward decisively resolving the health care crisis that they’ve created,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries stressed. “And part of that health care crisis relates to the Republican refusal to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits.”

Republicans are already trying to fault Democrats for the shutdown, but in reality, they only have themselves to blame. As it stands, Donald Trump’s minions control every branch of the federal government — the White House, majorities in both chambers of Congress, and the Supreme Court.

Instead of working towards a mature, bipartisan solution to resolve this conflict for the good of every American, the president is actively ignoring his opponents — even choosing to cancel scheduled meetings between himself and Democratic leaders.

Make no mistake, Democrats are willing to help keep the government open past October, but only if Republicans come to the negotiating table and agree to reverse their deadly attacks on healthcare. Trump’s unwillingness to compromise and work across the aisle in good faith, as Democrats have done repeatedly throughout the years, makes this shutdown his responsibility.

“Donald Trump is causing the shutdown. This is a Trump shutdown, and he is barreling right toward it right now,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer told reporters. “He knows he is going to be blamed for the shutdown.”

Preliminary data supports Schumer’s prediction. According to a poll published by former FiveThirtyEight journalist G. Elliott Morris, voters have a much higher chance of blaming the shutdown on Republicans — even if Democrats maintain their current healthcare demands.

“[Trump] says Democrats have a radical agenda. Really? Really? Tell the American people what is radical about protecting America’s health care,” Schumer added.

The choice is simple — MAGA Republicans can either agree to reverse their deadly healthcare cuts or face a reckoning in the 2026 midterms.

In either case, their decision will be the ultimate test of their allegiance; do they answer to Donald Trump, or the everyday constituents they were elected to serve?

The answer might be obvious, but let us wait and see.

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