Politics over people: Democrat CT Senators Murphy & Blumenthal vote to continue the shutdown

CT Senators Murphy (D) and Blumenthal (D) voted against the deal reached on Sunday to reopen the federal government. The deal promised a vote on health care subsidies within weeks of the opening. Murphy accused Donald Trump of "hurting people in order to enrich himself, destroy our democracy, and stay in power forever." Blumenthal claimed, "I am unwilling to accept a vague promise for a vote at an indefinite time on an indeterminate bill."

The government shut down, the longest in history, was beginning to hurt the overall economy including air travel and commerce, according to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. On ABC News, Bessent said here "Senator Chris Murphy gave the game away this week when he said, "Now it's to our advantage to keep the government closed." According to Bessent, "They have turned the American people into pawns". Fortunately, eight Democrat Senators agreed with Republicans to open the government and deal with healthcare subsidies thereafter.

This battle is over the huge and unsustainable cost of the Affordable Care Act (ACA} subsidies that are set to expire at the end of this year. Without reform or the continuation of government subsidies, consumers will face a shocking increase in ACA insurance premiums of 75% or more. Why are these subsidies so large and unsustainable?

First, the ACA was flawed from the start. When set up during the Obama administration, it was not intended to rely on permanent federal subsidies. Had that been the objective, the public debate would have centered on Universal Healthcare, a policy that Americans have repeatedly voted against. These subsidies have been extended and enhanced for the past three years.

Secondly, the program faces financial strain from its current eligibility rules and the costs of providing emergency care to non-citizens. Republicans sought to reform the program by removing subsidies that primarily benefit insurance companies and by tightening eligibility for certain lawfully present non-citizens. Democrats resisted this dismantling of ACA, attempting to hold government operations hostage until the costly subsidies were extended without reform.

In a consumer-first alternative, President Trump made an interesting proposal. Instead of extending the flawed subsidy system, President Trump recommended diverting the ACA money away from insurance programs directly into individual Health Savings Accounts (HSAs), so people can purchase their own, much better, healthcare. He estimated that could be an account of $2,000 per person. He said, "Call it Trumpcare, anything but Obamacare."

Between the Lines: Now the real problem solving begins. Let's hope our Senators roll up their sleeves and get to work now.

Story here