US EditionWhy Obamacare funding is a sticking point in the fight to avoid a government shutdown
Democrats demand $350 billion for health care over 10 years to maintain Medicaid and Affordable Care Act subsidies amid a potential government shutdown.
- Facing two days when the Senate returns, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Democrats won’t back funding that ignores the looming health care crisis, while U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal demanded Medicaid restoration and permanent ACA subsidies by September 30.
- The GOP funding proposal would drop extended ACA tax credits that help 24 million people and include Medicaid cuts, and Democratic senators say funding must protect both programs together.
- CMS data show the subsidized total nearly doubled to 19.5 million by 2024, and letters warn of premium increases up to $400 or $500 per month as the CBO estimates extending credits costs $35 billion annually.
- A government shutdown would begin on October 1, forcing hundreds of thousands of federal employees to work without pay and straining hospitals and clinics serving low-income areas.
- The bill needs 60 votes in the Senate, giving Democrats leverage, and some Republicans including Sen. Lisa Murkowski have proposed extending premium tax credits as a bipartisan path forward.
50 Articles
50 Articles
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DCCC Chair Suzan DelBene: ”Republicans seem like they're happy to lead us into a shutdown right now.”
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The Trump Administration’s threat to illegally fire more workers if the President doesn’t get his way is blatant extortion: using working people and their families — as well as the important public services those workers provide — as pawns in a power play with no concern for who gets hurt.Let’s be clear about what’s going on here: the Trump Administration has repeatedly shredded the last bipartisan funding bill — illegally canceling or freezing …
Trump Dismisses Government Funding Fears: ‘If It Has to Shut Down, It’ll Have to Shut Down’
President Donald Trump is brushing off concerns about a potential government shutdown — and resigning himself to the possibility that Senate Democrats won't cave on the Republican funding legislation.“These people are crazy, the Democrats,” Trump said on Friday in response to a question from NOTUS. “So if it has to shut down, it’ll have to shut down. But they’re the ones that are shutting it down.”House Republicans passed a continuing resolution…
Groups pressure Collins to extend health care subsidies. Collins says not yet.
Interfaith leaders held a vigil outside U.S. Sen. Susan Collins’ Portland office on Sept. 25, 2025 urging her to push for health care subsidies in a must-pass government funding bill. (Photo courtesy of Maine People's Alliance)As the end of the fiscal year approaches, pressure is building on Maine’s congressional delegation, specifically Republican U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, to push for a stopgap measure that includes an extension of health insura…
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