The Republican Shutdown Argument is a Giant Lie

Americans Deserve Better from Their Government

Let’s not pretend. Every American is getting screwed. When the government shuts down, the ultimate losers aren’t Trump, Schumer, or the members of Congress who grandstand on cable news.

The losers are you, me, and every single American.

This entire political circus is infuriating; Because while the politicians play chicken, millions of lives get thrown into chaos. And here’s the thing: The Republicans are to blame. They control all 3 branches of government. We all know it. They own this mess.

Open enrollment for the Affordable Care Act (ACA) begins November 1, but this year will be different, because Republicans in Congress have so far refused to extend the enhanced premium tax credits. These tax credits have made healthcare insurance more affordable for millions of Americans. And now, a tidal wave of sticker shock is about to hit the country.

Millions of Americans who rely on healthcare and subsidies under the Affordable Care Act will face higher premiums or lose coverage altogether. Seniors on Medicare will see delays, and children relying on CHIP programs could lose access.

These numbers are staggering. More than 20 million working people who buy their own insurance are projected to see their share of premiums skyrocket by 75 percent on average next year.

KFF projects that for ACA Marketplace enrollees who rely on the enhanced premium tax credit, they can expect an increase of 114% - more than double their current cost.

When Republicans passed their Big Brutal Bill this summer, they slashed nearly $1 trillion from Medicaid to help pay for trillions of dollars in tax cuts for the rich and corporations. The resulting debt from their tax scam will trigger an additional, automatic half-a-trillion dollar cut to Medicare.

And, while Republicans were happy to hand tax cuts to their billionaire backers, they refused to extend an Affordable Care Act tax credit for working people that has been keeping healthcare costs down for millions of households.

And GOP leaders are lying through their teeth about it - trying to shift blame on the government shutdown to Democrats. They want Republicans to extend the temporary program that has lowered health insurance costs for more than 20 million Americans buying coverage through the Affordable Care Act.

Trump and Republican leaders have refused to negotiate.

Trump’s spin is that Democrats want to fund health care for “millions and millions of illegal aliens.” That’s a lie. No, Democrats aren’t trying to fund health care for “illegal aliens.” Undocumented immigrants aren’t even eligible for ACA coverage. But lies seem to play better than facts in Trump’s America.

People who are in the United States unlawfully cannot get federally funded health insurance. They cannot sign up for Medicaid, nor can they get federally subsidized coverage through the Affordable Care Act’s online marketplaces.

To be perfectly clear: Not a single Democrat has talked about wanting to fund care for people in the United States unlawfully.

This is another manufactured crisis (of course) by the GOP. They are deploying a cynical and familiar playbook: recycling a series of debunked lies to justify the very chaos they created. They are calling working Americans “fraudsters“ in an effort to bury families in red tape and terminate their healthcare - to terminate Americans’ healthcare.

NO ONE doesn’t need, want, or deserve healthcare.

First, they claim that the enhanced tax credits are a handout to the wealthy. The Joint Committee on Taxation found that 95% of these tax credit dollars go to households earning under $200,000; and no one making over $500,000 receives them at all.

The real beneficiaries are families making up to about $128,600 for a family of four. And nearly half of all ACA enrollees have incomes below $31,300 for an individual. This is not a subsidy for the rich; it is a lifeline for the middle and working class.

Next, Republicans are trying to conjure a phantom threat of widespread “fraud and waste.” But their assertions are baseless. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services found about 1% in improper payments, mostly related to paperwork errors, not ineligibility.

Perhaps the most cynical lie is the attempt to paint the 24 million people who rely on the ACA as “illegal immigrants and fraudsters,” which is blatantly false.

Who Will Be Harmed the Most

Some of the people who will be most harmed are the GOP’s own constituents. Since 2020, about 90 percent of new ACA enrollments came from states Trump won in 2024 - red states.

Nearly half of ACA enrollees are America’s small business owners or workers, and more than a quarter of American farmers; many relying on these tax credits. These are not fraudsters - they are the backbone of America.

Finally, conservatives are taking aim at zero-dollar premium plans, arguing that low-income people need more “skin in the game.” Eliminating these plans would be catastrophic, causing millions of working Americans to drop their coverage, leading to a surge in uncompensated and delayed care that raises costs for everyone across the entire health insurance market.

The talking points are lies, but the consequences are about to become very real.

The GOP faces a deliberate choice. They can act now to prevent the chaos they have unleashed on American healthcare, or they can stand by these lies and consciously and deliberately inflict a devastating premium increases on millions of working families—and increasing health care costs across the board.

This is not a policy debate. It is a political decision to sacrifice the health and well-being of the American people for partisan gain.