Republicans are jonesing to make your health care more expensive

The federal government is careening toward yet another shutdown, as congressional Republicans refuse to negotiate with Democrats on a funding bill.

Republicans need Democratic votes in the Senate in order to avoid a filibuster and fund the government before the current spending bill expires on Sept. 30. Democrats want to use that leverage to get Republicans to extend subsidies for low-income Americans to purchase health insurance on the Obamacare marketplaces. If Republicans don't extend those subsidies, premiums for Americans will skyrocket.

But Republicans are so far refusing to negotiate on a subsidy extension—raising the odds that both health insurance premiums will become unaffordable for millions of Americans, and that the government will shut down.

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“The House Republican-only spending bill fails to meet the needs of the American people and does nothing to stop the looming health care crisis,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, both of New York, said in a statement on Tuesday. "At a time when families are already being squeezed by higher costs, Republicans refuse to stop Americans from facing double-digit hikes in their health insurance premiums. By refusing to work with Democrats, Republicans are steering our country straight toward a shutdown."

If Republicans do not agree to extend the Obamacare subsidies, premiums could surge as much as 75%, according to analysis by the Kaiser Family Foundation. That's an average increase of $700 per year, KFF said, with some families facing even steeper cost increases. 

Such large premium jumps could lead nearly 4 million people to lose their health insurance, according to a report from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.

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Republicans are quietly fretting that their own failure to extend those subsidies could be political suicide for their party in the 2026 midterms, as cost of living is the top issue for many voters. At the same time, Republicans have loudly demonized Obamacare for over a decade, and giving more money to the health insurance program could anger their base.

Ultimately, House Republicans released their proposal to stave off a shutdown—a short-term funding patch that runs through Nov. 21. The proposal would fund the government at the same levels as the soon-to-expire spending bill, but would add tens of millions in additional security funding for lawmakers, the Supreme Court, and the executive branch. 

Republicans are hoping that if the government shuts down, voters will blame Democrats.

However, a new Data for Progress poll released Wednesday found that voters would blame President Donald Trump and the GOP for a shutdown. According to the survey, a combined 59% of voters would blame Trump and the GOP if the government runs out of funds. 

A Navigator Research survey had similar results, with 45% of voters saying they’d blame Trump and Republicans for a shutdown. 

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