{"id":203112,"date":"2025-10-05T09:31:08","date_gmt":"2025-10-05T09:31:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/203112\/"},"modified":"2025-10-05T09:31:08","modified_gmt":"2025-10-05T09:31:08","slug":"the-real-health-care-crisis-isnt-immigration-its-affordability-linda-mccarty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/203112\/","title":{"rendered":"The real health care crisis isn\u2019t immigration \u2014 it\u2019s affordability: Linda McCarty"},"content":{"rendered":"

Vice President JD Vance claimed that Democrats wanted to shut down the government because \u201cthey want to give hundreds of billions of dollars of health care benefits to illegal aliens<\/a>.\u201d That statement isn\u2019t just misleading \u2014 it\u2019s dangerously false. <\/p>\n

The truth is, undocumented immigrants are excluded from all federal health insurance programs \u2014 including Medicare, Medicaid, and Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace coverage. Yet despite being locked out, they contribute nearly $100 billion annually in federal, state, and local taxes, according to 2022 estimates.<\/p>\n

So if immigrants aren\u2019t getting this money, who is losing it?<\/p>\n

Millions of American citizens, including families right here in Ohio, are facing a genuine health care cliff. The expanded ACA premium tax credits \u2014 first enacted in 2021 — are set to expire at the end of this year. If Congress fails to act, millions of working households will see their premiums skyrocket overnight.<\/p>\n

Before 2021, the ACA used a hard income cutoff to determine eligibility for premium tax credits. Households earning just over the threshold received no subsidies even if their premiums consumed a quarter of their income. That \u201csubsidy cliff\u201d made ACA plans unaffordable for many middle-income families, especially those just above the line.<\/p>\n

The 2021 reforms fixed that flaw, capping premiums at 8.5% of household income for everyone, based on benchmark silver plan for their region. This made coverage finally affordable for everyone.<\/p>\n

Now Congress may let that progress disappear.<\/p>\n

My husband and I live in Ohio and fall just over the $84,600 threshold. If these credits expire, our annual premium will likely double to roughly $35,000. That\u2019s not a sustainable budget line for any family, let alone retirees or small business owners. It\u2019s a return to a broken system where middle-income taxpayers are punished for earning slightly too much to qualify for help, yet far too little to absorb the cost.<\/p>\n

Republican lawmakers say extending these credits is \u201ctoo expensive.\u201d But the math tells another story. The cost of extending ACA credits would average about $35 billion a year, looking at a number of sources \u2014 less than the $44 billion annual increase authorized for mass deportations under the new \u201cBig Beautiful Bill.\u201d The Trump administration is choosing to pour more taxpayer dollars into mass roundups of long-time residents, rather than preserving affordable coverage for American families.<\/p>\n

This isn\u2019t fiscal conservatism. It\u2019s fiscal hypocrisy.<\/p>\n

When politicians spread myths about immigrants draining our health care system, they shift attention away from real policy choices hurting their own constituents. It\u2019s not \u201cillegal immigrants\u201d who will lose coverage in 2026 \u2014 it\u2019s millions of taxpaying Americans who depend on ACA credits to stay insured.<\/p>\n

Health care affordability isn\u2019t a partisan issue. It\u2019s a kitchen-table issue. Ohioans know what it means to watch costs rise while wages stay flat. We know what it\u2019s like to make impossible choices between medical coverage and mortgage payments. <\/p>\n

I\u2019ve written to my congressional representatives explaining how these cuts will affect us personally. The only responses I\u2019ve received are form letters celebrating the \u201cBig Beautiful Bill\u201d and its massive spending increases \u2014 none addressing the loss of coverage for real families.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s time for leaders to stop playing politics and start practicing responsibility. Extending ACA premium tax credits isn\u2019t a handout \u2014 it\u2019s a lifeline for working households and a smart investment in public health and economic stability.<\/p>\n

\"LindaLinda McCarty of Medina runs a home rental business in her retirement.Courtesy of Linda McCarty<\/p>\n

Rather than funding mass deportations that produce no measurable benefit, Congress should protect affordable health care for the people who fund this country \u2014 and who count on it.<\/p>\n

Because the real threat to American health care isn\u2019t immigration. It\u2019s indifference.<\/p>\n

McCarty runs a home rental business in her retirement. She writes from Medina.<\/p>\n

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* Email general questions about our editorial board or comments or corrections on this opinion column to Elizabeth Sullivan, director of opinion, at esullivan@cleveland.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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