For Democrats on Capitol Hill, health care is the key to avoiding a government shutdown.<\/p>\n
With a government funding deadline less than two weeks away \u2014 Sept. 30 \u2014 Democrats insist they won\u2019t support any spending bill that doesn\u2019t address their health care concerns, most notably the looming expiration of certain Affordable Care Act tax credits. Republicans say that position is a nonstarter. <\/p>\n
\u201cIf Republicans want to continue to gut the health care of the American people, there will not be Democratic support in connection with a partisan Republican spending bill that continues their failed and toxic policies,\u201d House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said at a news conference Tuesday.<\/p>\n
House Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar, Calif., who is a member of the Appropriations Committee, told MSNBC on Wednesday night that Republicans are \u201cattacking health care from every side and every angle \u2014 Medicaid, Medicare, the Affordable Care Act subsidies.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s up to us to help protect our communities, and that\u2019s why we\u2019re making health care a cornerstone of our push right now,\u201d House Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar told MSNBC.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is no health care funding stream that Republicans aren\u2019t going after,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s up to us to help protect our communities, and that\u2019s why we\u2019re making health care a cornerstone of our push right now.\u201d<\/p>\n
The enhanced Affordable Care Act tax credits are set to lapse at the end of the year. If they expire, millions of people would face higher health care premiums. <\/p>\n
While Republicans maintain lawmakers could address the tax credits issue later this year \u2014 the GOP spending bill goes through only Nov. 21, and House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told reporters Tuesday that the fight is a \u201cDecember policy issue, not a September funding issue\u201d \u2014 Democrats say people making health care decisions need certainty now. Open enrollment begins Nov. 1, and Democrats fear many people will elect not to get health coverage if they\u2019re looking at higher prices.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf millions of Americans see that their health insurance premiums are rising, then a number of them simply will choose not to get health insurance,\u201d Rep. Ted Lieu of California, the vice chair of the House Democratic Caucus, told MSNBC. \u201cThat not only is bad; that also raises costs for everybody else, because people who don\u2019t have health insurance will still get treated in the emergency room, which raises costs for everybody.\u201d<\/p>\n
Insurers are working on setting new rates, many of which will be published in October. Without the enhanced tax credits, premiums will go up dramatically \u2014 by more than 75% on average for enrollees, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation<\/a>. And an analysis from the Congressional Budget Office<\/a> estimates that a lapse in the tax credits would result in 4 million more uninsured people by 2034.<\/p>\n Democrats argue the situation is all the more dire after Republicans enacted more than $1 trillion in Medicaid cuts in their reconciliation bill \u2014 and they say they\u2019re holding the line on any funding measure until Republicans address the expiring tax credits.<\/p>\n The GOP funding bill to avert a government shutdown includes $30 million to increase security for lawmakers following Charlie Kirk’s killing.<\/p>\n