EDITORIAL: Ending the shutdown and keeping health insurance affordable must trump partisan politics

Oct. 8—The BDN Editorial Board operates independently from the newsroom, and does not set policies or contribute to reporting or editing articles elsewhere in the newspaper or on bangordailynews.com.

As the federal government shutdown drags into a second week, the lack of movement to end it has been discouraging. As politicians trade barbs, Americans are being hurt, and it could get much worse if health insurance becomes unaffordable for millions of Americans.

For Democrats, a major sticking point is the expiration of tax credits that make health insurance purchased through the Affordable Care Act more affordable. These subsidies, which were extended during the pandemic, run out at the end of the year. Without an extension, health insurance premiums will rise significantly for millions of Americans, many of whom will choose to go without insurance.

Republicans leaders, who control both chambers of Congress and the White House, would have you believe that all Democrats have to do is believe GOP promises that they want to "fix" the expiring tax credits and the federal government can reopen. Republican leaders have not earned that trust.

There is a glimmer of hope for ending this stalemate.

Some Republicans, including Sen. Susan Collins, say they are committed to extending the tax credits. Collins, who helped end other congressional impasses, has shared a "discussion draft" of a plan to end the shutdown with some of her colleagues in both political parties. The draft includes a commitment from Republican leadership to discuss extending the ACA tax credits, with changes such a cap on earnings to qualify. It would also require a Senate vote to pass the House-passed continuing resolution that would resume funding the federal government, thus ending the shutdown. The plan currently includes additional federal funding, including appropriations for several agencies, which has already been approved by the Senate.

"In Maine, hundreds of Border Patrol agents, members of our military, Coast Guard, and federal law enforcement, TSA screeners, and air traffic controllers are working with no certainty on when they will receive their next paycheck. This unnecessary shutdown is also unfair to furloughed federal workers and their families," Collins said in a statement to the BDN editorial board. "The consequences of a government shutdown only worsen over time, so that is why I am continuing to urge my Democratic colleagues to vote to reopen government as quickly as possible and resume work on the appropriations bills."

While we are concerned that the commitment to extend the ACA tax credits is too weak, Collins' plan is the kind of framework that is needed to end the shutdown. It is a good starting point that we hope can be strengthened.

The plan coincides with bills already under consideration. In the House, Rep. Jared Golden is an original co-sponsor of a bill that would extend the credits for a year. That bill has 13 Republican co-sponsors and 12 Democratic ones, offering a rare bipartisan way forward.

A bill in the Senate, sponsored by Sen. Jeane Shaheen, D-New Hampshire, would permanently extend the credits. Sen. Angus King, an independent, was an original co-sponsor of this bill in January.

Last week, King voted with Republicans for an unsuccessful continuing resolution to avoid a shutdown. He reluctantly did so, he said in a statement, because a shutdown would hand too much power to President Donald Trump and others in his administration who want to use a shutdown to gut the federal government. Although earlier this week he said he may change his vote unless Republican leadership gets more serious about fixing the expiring tax credits, on Wednesday he reiterated his fear that a shutdown gave Trump too much power and that he continues to support the continuing resolution to fund the government and end the shutdown. He also said he is "working intensely" with senators on both sides of the aisle to find a way to end the shutdown and to extend the health insurance tax credits.

"I intend to continue that work and as long as there are Republican senators willing to talk, I'll be at the table," he said in a statement Wednesday.

The onus is on the Senate in this case because House Speaker Mike Johnson has refused to convene the House for weeks, in part because he'd have to swear in a new Democratic member, which would ensure enough votes on a petition to force the Department of Justice to release files related to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Collins' plan, with firmer commitments on extending the ACA tax credits, offers a serious counter to the disingenuous politicking of the White House.

Party leaders, including Vice President JD Vance and Johnson, have perpetuated the lie that Democrats want to extend billions of dollars of health care benefits to "illegal aliens." Undocumented immigrants are not eligible for Medicaid or to purchase health insurance through ACA marketplaces.

In a press briefing last week, Vance claimed that Democrats were responsible for American hospitals providing too much care for illegal aliens, at the expense of American patients.

Claims of taxpayer dollars paying for health care for undocumented immigrants is an oblique reference to a law, signed by President Ronald Reagan, that requires hospitals to provide emergency treatment to anyone who comes through their doors. This was a humanitarian measure that aimed to ensure people didn't die outside hospitals because of their immigration or insurance status.

Rather than making false claims about health care for undocumented immigrants — and sharing idiotic and racist AI-generated videos of Democratic leaders wearing sombreros — Collins offers a way for Republican, and Democratic, leadership to get serious about ending the shutdown and ensuring that millions of Americans don't face health insurance costs they can't afford.

Her plan isn't perfect, but it should spur overdue discussion, debate and, hopefully, action.

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