{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://vasquez.house.gov/media/press-releases/rep-gabe-vasquez-shines-light-looming-expiration-aca-enhanced-premium-tax", "Rep. Gabe Vasquez Shines Light on Looming Expiration of ACA Enhanced Premium Tax Credits, Devastating Impact on New Mexicans\u2019 Health and Cost of Living", "2025-09-24", "2025", "2025-09", "Democrat", "House", "NM", "Gabe Vasquez", "V000136", "vasquez.house.gov", "vasquez", "https://vasquez.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "LAS CRUCES, N.M. \u2013 Today, U.S. Representative Gabe Vasquez (NM-02) hosted a roundtable and press conference on the looming expiration of Affordable Care Act Enhanced Premium Tax Credits (EPTCs). He stressed the negative impact letting these tax credits expire would have on New Mexicans\u2019 health outcomes and cost of living, as well as why these tax credits are front and center in current negotiations over a possible government shutdown.\n\nView the press conference here.\n\nJoined by patients who benefit from the EPTCs, caregivers, health care providers, and health care officials, Vasquez delivered a clear message: Congress must act now because New Mexicans cannot afford skyrocketing premiums.\n\nVasquez emphasized that if Congressional Republicans allow the EPTCs to expire, over 51,000 New Mexicans will see an average increase of $578 per month in health care premium costs. For those living in rural areas across the country, the hit will be even worse: premiums could rise by as much as 90 percent. Vasquez underscored that these aren\u2019t abstract numbers \u2014 they represent small business owners and others across southern New Mexico who could be priced out of access to health care.\n\n\u201cFor many New Mexico families, these tax credits are the difference between being able to see a doctor or losing health coverage altogether,\u201d said Vasquez. \u201cAnd when New Mexicans are pushed off their health care coverage \u2014 whether it be from the expiration of these tax credits or the recent Republican cuts to Medicaid \u2014 health care costs will rise across New Mexico, as hospitals and providers charge people with private insurance more to offset the cost of caring for the uninsured. This is everyone\u2019s problem.\u201d\n\nVasquez highlighted his Protecting Healthcare and Lowering Costs Act, which would permanently extend the EPTCs and lift the income cap so more middle-class families can access relief. The bill would also reverse recent cuts to Medicaid. He also noted that the day prior he \u2014 joined by 55 of his colleagues \u2014 had sent a letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson raising concerns about the Speaker\u2019s decision to cancel voting days ahead of the government shutdown and urging bipartisan negotiations to keep the government open and health care costs low.\n\nCommunity speakers included:\n\nVirgil Medina, CEO at La Clinica De Familia\n\nDr. Andazola, Chief Medical Officer at La Clinica De Familia\n\nYvette Ramirez Ammerman, CEO at NM Primary Care Association\n\nVictoria Hernandez, Outreach and Engagement Specialist at BeWell\n\nKey concerns raised by roundtable attendees and community speakers around the expiration of ACA enhanced premium tax credits included:\n\nHospital and clinic closures in local communities, as well as a resulting loss in good-paying jobs\n\nA decrease in patient access to preventative care and worsening health outcomes\n\nRising mortality rates\n\nHealth care service reductions\n\nDecreased access to specialists\n\n\u201cWe employ 540 individuals in the surrounding area, and the impact of the expiration of these tax credits could be devastating to those individuals, as well as for our low- and middle-income patients,\u201d said Virgil Medina, CEO at La Clinica De Familia. \u201cUncompensated care will continue to fall in our lap. But our ability to tap into some of the coverages that currently exist allows us to keep our doors open. These cuts are going to continue to make that a huge challenge as that uncompensated care number rises, and the number of services we can offer to patients will suffer. We will be forced to make some very, very difficult decisions that impact the communities we live in and continue to serve. As patients skip or delay care, we will see people come in sicker and sicker, making it hard for our doctors to provide the care that they need.\u201d\n\n\u201cWe are going to have to make cuts. We might have to close clinics. What happens to patients if they don\u2019t have clinics available in their communities? All that does is worsen the overall health of our community,\u201d said Dr. Andazola, Chief Medical Officer at La Clinica De Familia. \u201cThe number one cause of bankruptcy in the United States is health care bills. And today, we are talking about cutting coverage for people that barely have it. What does that do? Those people are going to come to us sicker. We need to put roadblocks in front of all these cuts \u2014 to Medicaid cuts, to the expiration of ACA enhanced premium tax credits \u2014 to reduce threats to our patients.\u201d\n\n\u201cWe aren\u2019t even meeting the health needs of people in Las Cruces right now. To imagine more cuts doesn\u2019t even seem realistic,\u201d said Tamara, a patient at La Clinica De Familia. \u201cI am a disabled person from COVID, and if I could no longer see specialists, how would I be able to receive the help I need? I am in chronic pain everyday, and I know I am not the only one. There are thousands of other people like me that are in the same situation as me.\u201d\n\n\u201cIf money goes away from these clinics, they will go away, and they will be very hard to replace,\u201d said Yvette Ramirez Ammerman, CEO at NM Primary Care Association. \u201cEveryone will be in the ERs, and mortality rates will rise. Thank you Congressman, for taking on this issue and supporting community health centers.\u201d\n\n\u201cCurrently in New Mexico, we have over 75,000 of our fellow New Mexicans who get their health insurance through BeWell. Of those individuals, about 88% currently receive enhanced premium tax credits. If coverage becomes unaffordable, New Mexicans are going to be forced to make some tough decisions, like whether they continue to receive coverage or make their car payment. We are asking Congress to act now,\u201d said Victoria Hernandez, Outreach and Engagement Specialist at BeWell.\n\n\u201cWe are in a moment of truth in Congress right now with this fight over the expiration of ACA enhanced premium tax credits. It\u2019s not a red issue, it\u2019s not a blue issue \u2014 it\u2019s an American issue. We all deserve to access health care,\u201d said Vasquez.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T19:10:29Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://vasquez.house.gov/media/press-releases/rep-gabe-vasquez-shines-light-looming-expiration-aca-enhanced-premium-tax"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8484497666358948, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}