DUCKWORTH CALLS OUT TRUMP AND REPUBLICANS FOR SHUTTING DOWN GOVERNMENT INSTEAD OF PROTECTING SOUTHERN ILLINOISANS FROM SKYROCKETING HEALTH INSURANCE PREMIUMS

The following information was released by Illinois Senator Tammy Duckworth:

U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today convened Southern Illinois health care leaders to highlight how Donald Trump and Republicans' One Big Beautiful Bill is increasing health care costs and decreasing access in the region, and how Trump chose to shut down the Federal Government to protect billionaire tax cuts and ensure health insurance premiums for middle class Illinoisans will skyrocket in just a few weeks. Duckworth met with leaders from Illinois Hospital Association, Illinois Critical Action Hospital Network, Deaconess Illinois, Southern Illinois Healthcare (SIH), Massac Memorial Hospital and local health care professionals to discuss the looming crisis of more than half a million Illinoisans losing health coverage, cuts in funding for rural health providers and increasing premium costs. Video of the Senator's remarks are available on the Senator's website.

"Families are staring down a health care crisis of Republicans' own makingand instead of working to save them from that pain and lower health care costs, Donald Trump and Republicans are forcing them through a needless government shutdown," Duckworth said. "Trump and Republicans succeeded in making the largest Medicaid cuts in historynow rural hospitals will shut down, nursing homes will close and thousands of Illinoisans will lose coverage while those who still have it will see their costs skyrocket. That's why Democrats repeatedly asked them to work with us on a bipartisan plan to prevent a health care crisis and keep the government open. Instead, Republicans chose dysfunction over the needs of the American people. I'm grateful to the Southern Illinois health care leaders who joined me today and I look forward to continuing to work together as we push back against Trump's chaos."

Trump and Republicans' One Big Beautiful Bill makes the largest health care cuts in history, destabilizing the health care system with more than $1 trillion in cuts from Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act. These cuts will have disastrous effects on our state with more than 500,000 Illinoisans estimated to lose health coverage. More than 100 nursing homes and hospitals, primarily in rural areas, are at risk of closing and Medicaid cuts are predicted to result in more than 27,000 jobs cut across the state.

Trump and Republicans plunged the nation into yet another needless and harmful shutdown to guarantee that out-of-pocket costs will skyrocket by refusing to negotiate an extension of the Affordable Care Act's enhanced premium tax credits set to expire at the end of the year. With the ACA tax credits, a 60-year-old couple making $85,000 pays about $7,000 for their annual premium. Without them, the same couple could be forced to pay nearly $30,000. Republicans would rather please Donald Trump and his billionaire buddies than serve the tens of millions of Americans who will see their premiums rise or the four million more will lose coverage entirely.

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