Cite likely spike in health care costs

By Paul Bean

All three members of Vermont’s congressional delegation oppose the current plan to reopen the government because they say it fails to secure extensions for Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies, which Democrats argue would double premiums for millions and strip coverage from low-income families, “prioritizing billionaire tax breaks overworking Americans’ access to affordable health care.”

“I’m voting no on the continuing resolution that would double healthcare premiums for 20 million Americans, kick 15 million people off Medicaid & allow 50,000 Americans to die unnecessarily every year,” wrote Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) on X Sunday. “All to give $1 trillion in tax breaks for billionaires,” he continued. 

Sanders criticized eight Senate Democrats who joined Republicans on November 10 to advance a continuing resolution (CR), calling it “a very, very bad vote” in a video posted to X. 

He argued the bill fails to extend Affordable Care Act subsidies, risking doubled or quadrupled premiums for over 20 million Americans, and paves the way for 15 million to lose Medicaid  which potentially could cause 50,000 preventable deaths annually. 

“Tonight, 8 Democrats voted with the Republicans to allow them to go forward on this continuing resolution. And to my mind, this was a very, very bad vote. What it does, first of all, is it raises health care premiums for over 20 million Americans by doubling and, in some cases, tripling or quadrupling. People can’t afford that when we are already paying the highest prices in the world for health care.” 

Sanders also said the deal would give a $1 trillion tax break to the top 1% while undermining working class families. 

“It paves the way for 15 million people to be thrown off of Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act. Studies show that will mean that some 50,000 Americans will die every year unnecessarily. And all of that was done to give $1 trillion in tax breaks to the 1%.”

Sanders also emphasized that recent midterm elections proved public support for Democrats is still holding firm: 

“What the election showed is that the American people want us to stand up to Trumpism, to his war against working-class people, to his authoritarianism. That is what the American people wanted. But tonight, that is not what happened. So we’ve got to go forward, do the best that we can to try to protect working-class people, to make sure that the United States not only does not throw people off of health care, but ends the absurdity of being the only major country on earth that doesn’t guarantee health care to all people. We have a lot of work to do, but to be honest with you, tonight was not a good night.”

Sen. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) said in a video posted to X late last night (11/10) that he was voting no for similar reasons to Sanders, citing health care concerns. 

“I just came off the Senate floor and voted no against the Senate Floor and voted ‘no’ against a continuing resolution offered by the Republicans and supported by President Trump. Why? It’s very simple. We’ve got a health care crisis in this country. Families need health care, and we have to continue the tax credits that are making it possible for Vermont families and families around the country to buy their health care, and they have expired under this bill. It’s wrong. And I took a stand as strongly as I could to vote ‘no.’ But I can tell you this, I am going to keep working on health care. It’s got to be affordable, not just for Vermonters but for all Americans. We have to do better.”

Welch has been involved in bipartisan negotiations over the past weeks and announced his opposition in a statement following the Senate’s vote on November 10. 

In earlier comments to CNN, Welch pinned the shutdown on Trump: “This is all Trump… Trump can take care of this if he pauses to make a phone call and allow us to reach the health care resolution.”  He also expressed respect for the eight Democratic senators who broke ranks but argued the division stemmed from “whether the continuation of the shutdown would be effective.”

Rep. Becca Balint (D-Vt.) Vermont’s lone House representative, said in an interview with MyNBC5 on November 10 that it was a “mistake” that ruined Democrats’ leverage after 41 days of shutdown pain. 

“It’s very confusing to me why my colleagues just across the border in Maine would, in this moment, give up this power,” said Balint to MyNBC5, referring to the eight Democrat Senators who voted against the party. “If we trust in this moment that they’re going to help figure out a plan on health care, when they have showed us for 15 years that they have no interest in doing that, then we’re fools,” she said.

“This is an existential threat,” said Balint to Vermont Public last week. “It is threatening our rural hospitals. It’s threatening access to care.”

Approximately 30,000 residents of Vermont get their health insurance via the state’s Affordable Care Act marketplace. The Public Assets Institute reports that Vermonters would experience the most substantial premium hikes if the federal healthcare premium tax credits are not extended, given that Vermont already has the highest premiums nationwide.