Posted on 10/01/2025 7:53:10 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
As you've probably heard, Democrats decided to shut down the government over healthcare. In particular, they are using the leverage they have in the Senate to demand that the Trump administration extend Obamacare subsidies which are scheduled to expire at the end of the calendar year. Here's what that is actually about.
In 2021, soon after Joe Biden took office, Democrats narrowly passed the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) with a vote that was along party lines. This $1.9 trillion bill included temporary Obamacare subsidies designed to make plans on the exchange cheaper so more people would sign up. But the ARPA only included money to cover two years of subsidies, 2021 and 2022.
In 2022, Democrats passed the poorly named Inflation Reduction Act which extended those same Obamacare subsidies another three years, 2023-2025. And that meant that whether or not the subsides continued beyond the end of this year would largely depend on which party won the 2024 election. Obviously, that didn't work out well for Democrats. So they've decided to make extending these subsidies one of their core demands in the shutdown.
Why this fight? Because Democrats' efforts to grow the size of Obamacare through the subsidies has worked.
In 2020, people enrolled were paying an average of $1,190 per year for Obamacare coverage but thanks to the subsidies in the Inflation Reduction Act that dropped last year by about 44% to $888 per year. Dropping the price by nearly half resulted in roughly double the number of people signing up. The number of people enrolled grew by 88%, from roughly 11 million to 21 million in just a few years.
Since 2020, the year before the enhanced subsidies went into effect, the number of people with ACA Marketplace coverage has grown by 88% from 11.4 million to 21.4 million.
All the growth in Marketplace enrollment in the last four years is among people receiving an advanced payment of the premium tax credit. Subsidized enrollment is up 106%, from 9.6 million (84% of Marketplace enrollees) in 2020 to 19.7 million people (92% of the total number of Marketplace enrollees). If the Inflation Reduction Act’s enhanced subsidies expire, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) expects ACA Marketplace enrollment to drop sharply from an estimated 22.8 million in 2025 to 18.9 million the following year.
If you skipped the boring numbers, the bottom line is this: Biden and Democrats increased subsidies so that many more people were getting free or almost free healthcare. Giving away free money is popular! But if those subsidies are allowed to expire the enrollment numbers will drop. Democrats don't want that because Obamacare is their single-payer starter project. They want the Trump administration to help them keep this project going so that, in the future, they can continue to expand it.
So their shutdown plan now is to talk about how much premiums will go up if these subsidies expire. If you've read any news stories on this topic, you've probably seen the same or similar factoids repeated over and over. For instance:
Premiums for health plans purchased over the Affordable Care Act marketplace will more than double in 2026 if enhanced subsidies expire at year’s end as scheduled, according to an analysis published Tuesday by KFF, a nonpartisan health policy research group...
If the enhanced credits end, recipients would see their premiums increase to $1,906 in 2026 from $888 this year, on average — a 114% increase, according to KFF’s analysis.
Just a few days ago the stories relying on KFF expertise were all saying premiums would go up 75%. Now it's 114%. Whatever the case, Democrats tend to use percentages rather than actual dollars when they talk about this because the dollar amounts aren't that large. At $888 a year, that means people are getting complete coverage for $74 a month. If the subsidies expire this might go up to $158 per month.
And note that increase doesn't account for the fact that premiums will go up anyway next year. In other words, the average price next year won't be $888 even if the subsidies are extended, it will be higher. KFF is maximizing the shock value by comparing this year's average to next year's un-subsidized average.
The bottom line is that Democrats want healthcare in this country to be free or nearly free and the are going to the mat with this shutdown to try to make sure that trend continues.
But of course nothing is really free. Someone has to pay for all of this and in this case it's taxpayers who will have to pay billions to extend these subsidies.
Die on that hill. No way that should be allowed, no MATTER what happens next. Absolutely NOT.
Obamacare is a typical Obama-marxist knife in the heart of the middle class.
Most people are happy they’re shut down.
Fed workers are happy. Paid vacation is what’ll be.
lolol.
So is it your position that hospitals, physicians, and surgeons should provide services to illegal aliens for free? Because that is what you are asking for.
It is illegal to refuse care to sick people because of lack of insurance. Medicaid provides SOME payment for these services - not nearly enough, but some.
Medicaid is not a payment TO illegal aliens. It's a payment TO places and people who would otherwise be taking care of them for free.
If you think EMTALA should be repealed, fine. Try to get that done.
But in the meantime, cutting off these payments will just accelerate the bankruptcy of rural hospitals and clinics all over the country.
Shutdown is nothing. What we’d damn well better be worried about is maintaining control of Congress next year, because if these morons get a majority, MAGA will be screwed and that puts them a step closer to actually being able to implement crap like this.
BS. Trump is going to end the Federal Reserve. The democo-rats and Soros/Brit’s are reaching the end of the line for screwing Americans. Domesticall, Trump is a rock star, but internationally not so much.
The Senior Dept of War/Trump meeting had several components, one was to end the reign of domestic terrorists, and some of the democrats themselves. Another reason was to ramp up the for for wars in Venezual and Iran, and elsewhere - the Pentagon was told to prepare for war to ensure peace.... Until Trump doens’t attack Venezula and occupy it, and strike Iran again, I’ll hold my opinion on the man of peace.
This Govt Shutdown is going to expedite the end of many democrats careers and their Antifa/Soros paid groups. Many of the DNC leadership are going to be prosecuted and Trump may end up using the Military Courts to prosecute those who are the ENEMIES WITHIN THE NATION.
Just the opposite. Read other posts for reference. Oh man...
“Free Obamacare Plans”
Someone has to pay for the free stuff!
That’s why your health insurance rates keep rising.
If the government is going to provide free health care to the poor, then we should get the insurance companies out of the middle. There’s no need for insurance companies to profit from that at taxpayer expense.
And that will help to continue the usual rounds of inflation, since at least some of that money will come out of thin air, from the Federal Reserve buying treasuries.
Modern Monetary Theory concepts towards socialised medicine where a government takeover is the end game.
> It is illegal to refuse care to sick people because of lack of insurance.<
Emergency, stabilizing care is required. The sniffles are not an emergency!
Years ago I laid on the floor of the emergency room with a herniated disc. The seats were all taken by non English speaking families with children. ALL OF THEM!
My wife raised a ruckus, as she is very capable of doing and got me into a room with a bed.
To clinch it all off, my insurance company initially refused to cover it because it was coded as “Back Pain”. From that day forward I have zero sympathy for your argument.
EC
The government has been providing free health care to the poor....forever. Before Obamacare. Through Medicaid. But that wasn’t good enough for the Democrats. Those poor needed insurance! What no one ever mentions is that Medicaid is distributed through the insurance companies and has been for many years now. So since Obamacare the poor’s insurance through Obamacare is subsidized by people who pay for their own insurance policies. The money has to come from somewhere.
Everything with the name “Obama” attached is DOOMED to failure. Not only Obamacare but also that oversized ugly chunk of concrete known as the Obama Library.
I’ve been asking Meta’s AI questions on Healthcare.
To sum it up, here is what Meta’s AI said.
The government provided a 100% subsidy for healthcare under COBRA for 6 months to individuals who lost their jobs in 2021.
The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) of 2021 turning healthcare into ObamaCare.
ARPA was scheduled to expire in 2022 but was extended through 2025 by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).
21.4 million people were covered in 2024 by ObamaCare.
In 2025, employees are still getting ObamaCare and the employer is being reimbursed by ARPA.
Eligibility: Available to individuals and families with incomes between 100% and 400% of the federal poverty level.
The amount of money earned that is considered 400% of the federal poverty level varies depending on household size and location. Here are the details:
400% of Federal Poverty Level for the 48 Contiguous States:
1 person: $62,600
2 people: $84,600
3 people: $106,600
4 people: $128,600
5 people: $150,600
6 people: $172,600
Me:
If I’m single and make $120,000 a year and use the Affordable Care Act, how much would it cost me for the minimum payment per month and how much out of pocket in healthcare would I need to spend before the Affordable Care Act began paying for my healthcare?
Meta AI (paraphrased):
ObamaCare Silver Plan would cost me about $850 a month.
The deductible is between $2,000 and $5,000.
The out-of-pocket payment is between $3,000 and $9,000 a year.
Meta AI said individuals buying their own healthcare could be denied coverage for preexisting conditions
Me:
In 2007, were healthcare insurance companies allowed to deny me coverage for preexisting conditions if my healthcare payments were provided by my employer?
Meta AI excerpt:
If you had employer-provided coverage in 2007, you likely had protection against denial of coverage for preexisting conditions under HIPAA.
Video of Sen. John Kennedy saying what I posted above.
https://www.facebook.com/reel/25037663345828971/?s=single_unit&__cft__[0]=AZVqZer2AQ5xI-Odp_oMpk_OnWubkJLwxzyOZ3gFg64tk7hnAqvKJvMCqDzLPosWdp6yZHj-jn3zBehPUnuS58xMsOCBG3PqXhTe03nrv7DCei1KN8Pk8HYxlF_tnNecTCdEq53okyIh6YhCQd0sM3ggFZRhLd7pH-yggmE6Prd3At6sAyAi-6XaxEtXmxzdJVy2KZCHzDyRFK8ymx8-JTJcVxG9LnwIX7VlB-VTDijJbA&__tn__=H-R
California closes $12B deficit by cutting back immigrants’ access to health care
California closes $12B deficit by cutting back immigrants’ access to health care
Associated Press via NY Post ^ | 6/28/25
https://nypost.com/2025/06/28/us-news/california-cuts-back-illegal-immigrants-access-to-healthcare-cutting-into-12b-deficit/?dicbo=v2-89nYZsy
California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed on Friday a budget that pares back a number of progressive priorities, including a landmark health care expansion for low-income adult illegal immigrants, to close a $12 billion deficit.
JD Vance on the lies about illegal aliens getting healthcare
https://www.facebook.com/watch?v=4399334386965168
Voice Typing
About illegal alien benefits, look, the text is very clear and I’ve, I even saw, I think it was George Stephanopoulos in an interview with Mike Johnson did a Fact Check that was totally rooted in baseless claims. It was basically Democrat propaganda.
If you look at the legislative text that they gave us, they tried to turn on 2 separate.visions that would give health care benefits to illegal aliens.
number one if you’re an american citizen you’ve been to a hospital in the last few years you probably noticed that wait times are especially large and very often somebody who’s there in the emergency room waiting is an illegal alien very often a person who can’t even speak English.
Why do those people get health care benefits at hospitals paid for by American citizens? The answer is a decision made by the Biden administration that the Trump administration, working with congressional Republicans, undid. We turned off that money spigot to healthcare funding for illegal aliens. The Democrats in their legislative texts want to turn it back on. That’s one thing.
The second thing, Matt, is we all know that there are various ways in which the Biden administration waved away illegal immigration status. They gave parolees, they gave asylum claims to people who weren’t really claiming asylum. And when they waived the magical Amnesty, giving millions of people legal status even though they were in the country illegally. They also gave those people access to health care benefits.
So what the Democrats are engaging is a slight of hand. They’re saying, no, no, no, those weren’t illegal aliens who are getting health care benefits even though everybody knows they were in the country illegally. It’s a lie told by the Democrats that they’re not trying to give healthcare benefits to illegal aliens.
It’s a lie that is obviously untrue. If you just look at the.Text that they gave us. And all you have to do is understand that this is about who benefits. We think the American people’s government ought to benefit American citizens. The Democrats are willing to shut it down to benefit illegal aliens. The contrast couldn’t be more clear.
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