By Michele White
Democrats on Thursday, September 11, demanded two major concessions for their votes to pass a stopgap funding measure before the September 30 deadline. The hardline stance comes as the December 31 expiration date for the enhanced Affordable Care Act insurance tax credits looms and open enrollment for the Health Care Marketplace begins on November 1.
Their second big demand is to reverse cuts to Medicaid spending that Republicans passed in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
“Every Democrat in the House and Senate voted against it. On this issue we’re totally united,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said, “The Republicans have to come to meet with us in a true bipartisan negotiation to satisfy the American people’s needs on health care or they won’t get our votes. Plain and simple.”
Enrollment in the Health Insurance Marketplace reached record highs for four straight years, according to health care policy research organization KFF, and has more than doubled since 2020.
KFF attributed much of that growth to the enhanced subsidies and projects an increase of more than 75% in the cost of premiums, on average, for people enrolled without an extension.
For this reason, some moderate and vulnerable Republicans support extending the subsidies. Eleven Republicans co-sponsored a bipartisan bill that would extend the credits, (H. R. 5145) for another year, past the 2026 midterm elections.
But, getting Republicans to reverse the Medicaid cuts – a key piece of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act – in order to pass a continuing resolution doesn’t seem likely.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) repeatedly accused Republicans of an “unprecedented attack” on the health care of Americans. This, on the 24th anniversary of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 – and one day after an assassin killed conservative activist Charlie Kirk, which some on the left have celebrated on social media.
“The appropriations bill that Republicans are trying to jam down the throats of the American people in the House on health care is an assault,” Jeffries said. “It’s an assault on medical research. It’s an assault on the Centers for Disease Control. It’s an assault on nurses. It’s an assault on vaccine availability. It’s an assault on public health infrastructure. Republicans are continuing their assault on the health care of the American people.”
Dramatics aside, Democrats are risking a government shutdown. Despite their repetitive declarations of unity on Thursday, there reportedly remains division among Democratic lawmakers, with some reports of Schumer fearing the political backlash from a shutdown.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) told Bloomberg News on Tuesday the continuing resolution has to be “clean.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), on the other hand, told reporters that he prefers the old-fashioned way of passing legislation, touting the appropriators’ progress.
“We recognize the shutdown chatter from the left is growing louder,” Johnson said. “Some of these people seem to enjoy this. It seems Democrats may take the path of maximum resistance and try to shut the government down. It’s not surprising because they’re struggling, because they don’t really have a message, or a leader, or their party registration is falling. Their approval ratings are in the low 20s and they’re about to elect a Marxist to be the mayor of New York City.”
The Speaker warned a government shutdown would be “dangerous and harmful to millions of Americans,” and reiterated that Republicans are ready to work with Democrats in “good faith.”
The point of contention is that Johnson called for working together with the goal of spending less money than Congress spent last year, recognizing the high national debt.
“The ultimate question of whether there’s going to be a government shutdown at the end of the month is up to Congressional Democrats,” Johnson said, “And that’s just the way it is.”
That doesn’t sound like Republicans are caving to Democrats’ demands.