{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.murray.senate.gov/ahead-of-final-opportunity-to-save-aca-tax-credits-senator-murray-urges-republicans-to-stop-maga-health-care-hike-slams-unserious-and-harmful-republican-proposals-that-would-do-nothing-to-stop-premi/", "Ahead of Final Opportunity to Save ACA Tax Credits, Senator Murray Urges Republicans to Stop MAGA Health Care Hike, Slams Unserious and Harmful Republican Proposals That Would Do Nothing to Stop Premiums from Skyrocketing", "2025-12-10", "2025", "2025-12", "Democrat", "Senate", "WA", "Patty Murray", "M001111", "www.murray.senate.gov", "murray", "https://www.murray.senate.gov/category/press-releases/", "scraper", "Murray: \u201cThe Republican plan is like Squid Games for health care. You can\u2019t afford quality health coverage? Here\u2019s a coupon\u2014spin the wheel and see if you make it through the year. If you lose\u2014if you get cancer, if you get pregnant, or if you have any sort of medical emergency more expensive than a thousand bucks, you get buried in debt.\u201d\n\nSenator Murray has been sounding the alarm on the looming health care cost cliff and calling on Republicans to work with Democrats to extend the ACA tax credits well over a year\u2014FULL TIMELINE HERE\n\n***WATCH: Senator Murray\u2019s full floor speech; DOWNLOAD HERE***\n\nWashington, D.C. \u2013 Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), a senior member and former chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, spoke forcefully on the Senate floor, calling on Republicans to support legislation to extend the Affordable Care Act (ACA) enhanced premium tax credits and prevent the massive premium hikes families are facing beginning January 1st because of Republicans\u2019 refusal to act all year.\n\nMurray laid out how, at this point\u2014well over a month into Open Enrollment\u2014it is simply too late to pass anything more complicated than a clean extension of the tax credits, which is what Democrats\u2019 bill does. Republicans had all year to propose and pass reforms to the tax credits\u2014they chose not to\u2014and proposals requiring the implementation of major reforms to the tax credits less than three weeks before coverage begins January 1st are not serious and would not stop health care premiums from skyrocketing. The latest polling from KFF found one in four ACA marketplace enrollees said they are very likely to go uninsured if the ACA tax credits aren\u2019t extended, and one in three enrollees said they are very likely to shop for a plan with higher deductibles and out-of-pocket costs.\n\nTomorrow, alongside a vote on Democrats\u2019 legislation that would provide a clean, three-year extension of the ACA enhanced premium tax credits, the Senate will also vote on a Crapo-Cassidy proposal that would kill the ACA enhanced premium tax credits\u2014doing nothing to stop premiums from spiking. The Crapo-Cassidy bill also includes extreme new anti-abortion restrictions, including blocking ACA Marketplace plans that provide abortion coverage from receiving cost-sharing reduction (CSR) payments\u2014which would effectively force them out of the marketplace and make it even more difficult for people to get this essential care when they need it.\n\nOpen enrollment began on November 1st\u2014and ends on Monday, December 15 for coverage effective January 1 (for coverage effective February 1, open enrollment ends on January 15). Nationwide, 22 million Americans are seeing their health care costs skyrocket because of Republican inaction\u2014premiums are more than doubling on average for people who buy health coverage on the exchanges, and these higher costs will push 4.8 million people off their health insurance coverage over the next decade. A Washington-state specific fact sheet on the ACA tax credits is HERE.\n\nSenator Murray\u2019s remarks, as delivered on the Senate floor today, are below:\n\n\u201cThank you, M. President. Right now, right now, families are trying to get health coverage for next year, a few weeks away. And they are coming face-to-face with the MAGA health care hike.\n\n\u201cThat\u2019s not some theory, or talking point. That is the stone-cold reality.\n\n\u201cJust talk to folks back home and they will tell you. Premiums are doubling, on average, for people losing the ACA enhanced premium tax credits. In some cases, they are tripling, or quadrupling\u2014or even worse.\n\n\u201cI\u2019ve heard from seniors who will see their premium jump more than a thousand dollars a month. I\u2019ve heard from a family in Washington state whose premium will jump two thousand dollars a month.\n\n\u201cA new KFF poll found one in four people will just go without health coverage if their premium doubles\u2014again, that\u2019s the average increase families are facing because of Republican inaction. That\u2019s the reality that we are staring down this very moment.\n\n\u201cThis is hitting seniors, who are too young for Medicare but can\u2019t afford to roll the dice on their health. This is hitting small businesses, who rely on the exchanges and tax credits to get coverage for themselves and their employees. It\u2019s hitting farmers, many of whom are covered on the exchanges.\n\n\u201cAnd I have to say, the reason I call this the MAGA health care hike? Is because it is going to hit MAGA states the hardest. Even as Trump calls affordability a \u2018scam!\u2019\n\n\u201cThe ten states where premiums are jumping by the highest percentage? All Republican states. Every single one.\n\n\u201cThe vast majority of these dollars go to Republican states. And yet, the vast majority of my Republican colleagues couldn\u2019t be bothered when it came to saving the health tax credits, and stopping folks back home from losing coverage.\n\n\u201cNot only are most Republicans not serious about stopping the MAGA health care hike\u2014many of them are cheering it on!\n\n\u201cYou don\u2019t have to take my word for it. Just look at what Republican leaders said about saving the health care tax credits earlier this year.\n\n\u201cRepublican leaders said, and I quote: nothing. Nothing! Or just look at the only health care plan Republicans ever rallied around: cutting a trillion dollars from health care. Or just listen to Speaker Johnson argue Republicans \u2018strengthened\u2019 health care\u2014by making the biggest cut in Medicaid in history!\n\n\u201cThat\u2019s like saying you strengthened a ship by throwing the passengers overboard! That is the one thing they all agree on. That is the one health policy they are all proud of.\n\n\u201cDo Republicans want an award for all the hospitals that are now going to shutter? Do they want a thank you card from all the families that get priced out of their health coverage?\n\n\u201cAnd another clear sign Republicans are not serious about health care: their message has been all over the place. Everywhere from hypocritical, to nonsensical, to straight-up lies.\n\n\u201cOne of the first Republican talking points we saw was the outright lie that all this money is for illegal immigrants. Their latest spin is just as ridiculous.\n\n\u201cBecause now Republicans, the same party that proudly brought you the biggest billionaire tax giveaway in the history of our country, the same Republicans who have never met a corporate CEO they didn\u2019t want to shower with tax cuts, are scandalized to learn health insurance is provided by health insurance companies. That\u2019s pretty darn rich.\n\n\u201cWhen Republicans were just giving money away this summer\u2014literally a billionaire free-for-all\u2014it was so important that they cut health care. But when Democrats want to help families buy health coverage\u2014that is a bridge too far!\n\n\u201cIf Republicans, the party of Trump and Elon, want to play \u2018who is buddies with billionaires,\u2019 go ahead. Make my day.\n\n\u201cRemember, Republicans made tax breaks for billionaires permanent. Permanent! They exploded the national debt by trillions to do it. They cut health care to do that! And they pretended it cost zero dollars by using ridiculous, make-believe budget gimmicks.\n\n\u201cBut saving health care for a few years is too expensive?\n\n\u201cRepublicans don\u2019t see anything outrageous about Trump shoveling billions of dollars at Argentina. They have no objection with a new private jet for Secretary Noem, or bulldozing the White House for Trump\u2019s latest gold-plated vanity project.\n\n\u201cBut they can\u2019t imagine making sure their own constituents have health care?\n\n\u201cAnd please, when Republicans try and pretend it\u2019s unthinkable we want to do this for three years, don\u2019t forget they already voted down doing it for one year.\n\n\u201cIn fact, one Republican actually called it, \u2018political terrorism.\u2019 Give me a break.\n\n\u201cTrump can post a video where he bombs protesters with feces. He can repost someone calling to hang Democrats. But when Democrats want to save health care for working families, that is \u2018political terrorism.\u2019 M. President.\n\n\u201cAnd let\u2019s not forget one of the most incredible Republican excuses for letting premiums double\u2014they never wanted to lower health care costs with these tax credits in the first place!\n\n\u201cThey say, \u2018Look, Democrats passed these tax credits without a single Republican vote.\u2019 Well, you bet we did! And that really does show the difference in priorities, doesn\u2019t it?\n\n\u201cWhen Democrats were in power, we passed the strongest, longest tax credit we had the votes for to help working families get health care. Because Democrats actually think it\u2019s a problem that millions of people are going to lose coverage.\n\n\u201cBut Republicans think the real problem is too many people were able to get coverage in the first place. They are even doubling down on that in their new, half-baked proposal to pretend they have some kind of health care agenda.\n\n\u201cJust look at the ideas that Republicans are putting forward.\n\n\u201cThe Republican health care plan is to bring back\u2014back\u2014the bad old days of \u2018high risk pools\u2019\u2014when pre-existing conditions weren\u2019t protected, and a cancer diagnosis meant you couldn\u2019t get health coverage.\n\n\u201cThe Republicans health care plan is more junk health plans that bury patients in debt when they have an accident, or they get sick.\n\n\u201cThe Republican plan is finding new ways to attack access to abortion and block women from getting the care they need.\n\n\u201cThe Republican health care plan is \u2018just let mom shop around for health care\u2019\u2014as if moms didn\u2019t have enough to worry about. And as if shopping is even an option when you need urgent care, or specialty care that\u2019s hard to find, or you only have one hospital for miles.\n\n\u201cAnd\u2014here\u2019s a doozy\u2014the health care plan Republicans put forward this week does not even bring down premiums\u2014not a single cent!\n\n\u201cThat\u2019s right\u2014their plan does nothing about skyrocketing premiums. So if your premium is too high for you to afford coverage in the first place, the Republican plan for you is \u2018tough luck.\u2019\n\n\u201cThey want to replace tax credits that actually make sure people can enroll in a quality health plan, with a mere pittance that you can only get if you\u2019re poor enough to qualify, but still make enough to afford health coverage in the first place. And only if you buy the lowest quality plan, even if that\u2019s not what you want.\n\n\u201cOnly then are Republicans offering you a meager $83 or $125 dollars a month which comes, by the way, nowhere close to covering your deductible, and does nothing to keep families out-of-pocket health care costs from going through the roof.\n\n\u201cInstead of reducing the uninsured rate or getting people quality coverage, Republicans are saying to you, \u2018what if we only gave money to people who can afford health coverage, instead of supporting those who cannot, and what if we spent that money pushing people toward the worst coverage that leaves them on the hook for huge deductibles?\u2019\n\n\u201cInstead of bringing premiums down, Republicans are saying, \u2018What if we spend this same funding in a way that doesn\u2019t lower premiums at all\u2014but just leaves them sky high?\u2019 And even ends up with them soaring for patients with pre-existing conditions by driving younger, healthier people into lower quality plans or out of the market entirely.\n\n\u201cThe Republican plan is like Squid Games for health care.\n\n\u201cYou can\u2019t afford quality health coverage? Here\u2019s a coupon\u2014spin the wheel and see if you make it through the year. If you lose\u2014if you get cancer, if you get pregnant, or if you have any sort of medical emergency more expensive than a thousand bucks, you get buried in debt.\n\n\u201cAnd win or lose, you are going to have to play the same, twisted game again, year after year, for the rest of your life. And one year, you are going to lose. Because we all get sick eventually. We all get older eventually.\n\n\u201cWhat Republicans have put forward is not a health care plan\u2014it\u2019s a sick joke. I can hardly believe they can say it with a straight face.\n\n\u201cAnd speaking of jokes, are Republicans going to stand up this newfangled disaster before Open Enrollment begins? Well, wait, guess what\u2014it\u2019s too late for that. This is not just out of touch with families, it is out of touch with reality.\n\n\u201cAnd even if these plans were not a joke, there\u2019s scarcely time left to do something half as complicated.\n\n\u201cThat\u2019s the kicker, M. President. If Republicans were serious about reforming the tax credits, the time to do that was before we were a month into Open Enrollment.\n\n\u201cDemocrats were at the table all year. Republicans were nowhere to be found.\n\n\u201cThe truth is, if Republicans actually wanted to reform the tax credits, they could have done that without Democrats! They could have done that, actually, in their Big Ugly Bill! They could have extended those ACA tax credits completely on their own terms if that was important to them.\n\n\u201cBut they did not. Because they did not care. And when Democrats insisted, and insisted, and insisted, \u2018Republicans, just come to the table,\u2019 they chose to shut down the government rather than talk about health care.\n\n\u201cBut now, when rates have already been set, and families have days to get coverage for January, a few weeks away, Republicans are not just trying to pretend they care about stopping the MAGA health care hike. They are now trying to pretend it is realistic to negotiate major changes and new programs in time for January 1st.\n\n\u201cWhat are they talking about?\n\n\u201cForget how long negotiations take, even if we passed that bill today, there is not time to implement anything more complicated than a clean extension.\n\n\u201cNow, I am always at the table to talk about how we can save health care. I am happy to sit down next year and negotiate serious bipartisan reforms for the 2027 season.\n\n\u201cBut the key word here is serious. It is not serious for Republicans to act like they care about health care now, when they were silent on this during their tax-cutting bonanza.\n\n\u201cIt is not serious for Republicans to act like there is time for major negotiations and reforms now\u2014when we are over halfway through open enrollment.\n\n\u201cAnd it is not serious for Republicans to act like they just want simple tweaks\u2014when they are actually demanding new abortion coverage bans they know are a nonstarter.\n\n\u201cM. President, let me close with this. If Republicans truly want to have a serious, bipartisan conversation about health care, we can do that. Democrats are happy to do that. But there is a fire burning right now, and a lot of people are about to get burned if we don\u2019t put it out.\n\n\u201cSo the first step has to be: passing the bill Democrats have put forward, extending the tax credits, and saving health care for millions of families in the country.\n\n\u201cWe could have talked about reforms earlier. And once we do this, we can still talk about reforms later. But right now, we have to put this fire out. And we have a bill that does that.\n\n\u201cNow, I am hoping, against hope and against history, that reason wins out and Republicans join us to pass this bill.\n\n\u201cBut I will say, if Republicans refuse to do the right thing, the thing their own constituents are begging all of us to do, they should know: Democrats are not going to walk away from this fight.\n\n\u201cI am going to continue holding Republicans accountable. And more importantly, the American people are going to hold Republicans accountable too, with their voices and their votes.\n\n\u201cDemocrats will also keep sharing a vision for how we do rebuild a stronger health care system after this Republican wreckage.\n\n\u201cBecause as much as we want to save these health tax credits, I think everyone knows, that is a starting point. It is a bare minimum.\n\n\u201cWe still need universal health care in America. We have needed it for a very long time. It is what I have always been fighting for.\n\n\u201cAnd, whatever happens in the next few days, I am going to keep pushing for reforms that make high-quality health care that\u2019s actually affordable a reality for every American.\u201d\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T20:09:11Z"]], "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://www.murray.senate.gov/ahead-of-final-opportunity-to-save-aca-tax-credits-senator-murray-urges-republicans-to-stop-maga-health-care-hike-slams-unserious-and-harmful-republican-proposals-that-would-do-nothing-to-stop-premi/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 2.0791306160390377, "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"}