OPINION: Congress: Don’t give Americans a lump of lost healthcare coal 

By Senator Hillman T. Frazier

JA Guest Writer

In the midst of what should be a joyous holiday season, millions of Americans are instead anxious and worried. So many of us are stressed about rising food and housing costs squeezing household budgets, alongside uncertainty about the impacts of tariffs, increasing unemployment, and persistent inflation. And now Congress is about to hand hardworking Americans another lump of coal – in the form of lost healthcare or skyrocketing premiums. 

Instead of focusing on affordability and increasing access, President Trump and leaders in Congress are making things worse: by raising healthcare costs and cutting coverage. They have already passed a law that makes it harder for working people to get affordable healthcare – and if Congress doesn’t act quickly to extend Affordable Care Act (ACA) tax credits, even more of our neighbors could see their healthcare premiums skyrocket. With over 90% of ACA enrollees receiving tax credits, this just won’t work. 

You might not be thinking of the ripple effect of these cuts. Take many farmers, for example, who are small business owners accessing healthcare through the ACA. We know many farmers are struggling right now, whether from cuts to successful local food purchasing programs or market volatility from tariffs. Any increases in health care could force the worst of all choices: continue farming or try to find a job that provides health care. With so much strain on our farmers and food system, can we really afford to put farmers out of business? 

It doesn’t stop there. Skilled workers in the building trades, entrepreneurs, real estate professionals, and so many more use the ACA for healthcare. Loss of access to affordable healthcare will impact not only these workers, but our construction industry, housing, and food supply, to name a few. Students access care through the ACA while they work to achieve their educational goals. Rural residents use the ACA more than non-rural residents, and rural communities are already struggling with hospitals and clinics closing. 

If you’re thinking since you get your healthcare through your job, you won’t be affected, there’s bad news there too. Employers will be facing the biggest premium hikes in fifteen years, following a decade of steady increases. Of course those increases will be passed along to employees in the form of lost coverage or higher employee contributions. When these costs become unaffordable, that could lead to layoffs or job losses. 

To make matters worse, the new law – the so-called “One Big Beautiful Bill” – also slashed essential funding for Medicaid and Medicare, potentially impacting access to healthcare for many more millions of Americans, and cuts funding for rural hospitals, nursing homes, and clinics, which will force hundreds of life-saving facilities to close. In many cases, these are areas with no alternative access to care. 

Why would Congress cut healthcare for millions of Americans? Why would they make decisions that close rural hospitals and make it impossible to stay in your home community and raise a family? The cuts are to pay for huge – obscene – tax breaks for the wealthiest and big corporations – like insurers and drug corporations. This isn’t right. Hardworking Americans need the system to work for them too, and it shouldn’t require a lobbyist or big campaign contributions for Congress to do the right thing. 

We don’t have time to waste. We can’t afford any more delay. President Trump and Republican leaders in Congress have offered no alternative and have no other plan. Those health care tax credits expire at the end of the month and right now millions of Americans are deciding whether to sign up or renew Affordable Care Act coverage during the open enrollment window. 

This holiday season, we hope Congress will honor the hard work of Americans, extend the ACA tax credits, fix essential funding for Medicaid and Medicare, keep rural hospitals open, and continue working to make health care accessible and affordable for all Americans in the coming year.