ROUNDUP: Govs. Kelly, Meyer, and Lujan Grisham Call on Congressional Republicans to Extend ACA Subsidies

ROUNDUP: Govs. Kelly, Meyer, and Lujan Grisham Call on Congressional Republicans to Extend ACA Subsidies

Yesterday, DGA Chair Kansas Governor Laura Kelly, Delaware Governor Matt Meyer, and New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham called on Congressional Republicans to extend critical Affordable Care Act subsidies that 22 million Americans rely on and avoid a government shutdown. Without action from Republicans in Congress, health care costs for hardworking Americans who rely on these subsidies will balloon by an average of over 75 percent.

Check out what people are reading and listening to on how Govs. Kelly, Meyer, and Lujan Grisham are standing up for their states and fighting to lower costs below.

Kansas Reflector: Kansas governor says health care cuts will have 'disastrous effects' if Congress can't reach deal

• Gov. Laura Kelly warned Wednesday that the loss of Affordable Care Act Marketplace tax credits will have "disastrous effects" on health care unless they are restored by Congress before enrollment begins Nov. 1.

• Her remarks came as a new report predicts 108,000 Kansans will lose their Marketplace coverage because of provisions in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that President Donald Trump signed into law earlier this year.

• Speaking at a news conference as chair of the Democratic Governors Association, Kelly called on Republicans to work with Democrats to restore the ACA Marketplace tax credits as part of a deal to avoid a shutdown of the federal government.

• "Republicans have the opportunity to come to the table and negotiate a bipartisan bill in good faith that meets the needs of American people and prevents health care costs from skyrocketing because of the changes they made in the 'one big, ugly bill.' If they don't, the consequences for the people we serve will be devastating," Kelly said.

Topeka Capital-Journal: What Obamacare tax credit at center of government shutdown issue means to Kansas

• Tens of thousands of Kansans benefit from a health insurance premium tax credit that is at the center of the debate over a looming federal government shutdown.

• The enhanced Obamacare tax credits championed by Democrats in negotiations with Republicans for a budget compromise help subsidize the health insurance premiums of Kansans. If those enhanced credits are allowed to expire, the average marketplace premium in Kansas would increase by about $700 a year.

Source New Mexico: Democratic governors rally Congressional Republicans to extend health care tax credits

• New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on Wednesday joined fellow Democratic governors from Kansas and Delaware to urge Congressional Republicans to extend the federal Affordable Care Act premium tax credits set to expire at the end of the year.

• The health insurance credits have become a sticking point in negotiations over a spending bill Congress needs to pass to avoid a government shut-down at the end of the month.

• According to nonprofit health care research organization KFF, over nine in 10 enrollees receive some amount of premium tax credit for their health insurance, which, if they expire, will cause out-of-pocket premiums to rise by more than 75% on average for the vast majority of individuals and families buying coverage through the Affordable Care Act marketplaces. The tax credits also have also contributed "substantially" to Marketplace enrollment more than doubling to 24.3 million people in 2025; loss of the subsidies could cause millions to drop coverage, KFF says.

Santa Fe New Mexican: Lujan Grisham: More than 27,000 New Mexicans could lose insurance if federal credits expire

• A week before a special legislative session planned to address federal cuts to health care and other areas, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham joined other Democratic governors to sound the alarm on the looming expiration of enhanced federal tax credits tens of thousands of New Mexicans use to help pay for health insurance.

• The governors warned premiums could increase as much as 75% and force "hard-working families" to choose between health insurance and basic necessities.

• "In New Mexico, this is what it means: More than 27,000 folks, given the increased cost of these premiums, will be forced out of the private marketplace," Lujan Grisham said Wednesday during a virtual news conference hosted by the Democratic Governors Association.

WGMD: Gov. Meyer on Need to Extend ACA Subsidies

• "If families are forced to choose between paying for housing, groceries, or health care, our entire economy suffers. Extending these ACA marketplace credits is one of the simplest ways for Congress to bring relief to working American families that, let's be honest, are already stretched thin and one of the most effective ways to foster long-term economic growth."

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