Reps. Panetta, Lofgren, and Liccardo Highlight Impact of Republicans’ Healthcare Crisis
San Jose, CA – U.S. Representatives Jimmy Panetta (CA-19), Zoe Lofgren (CA-18), and Sam Liccardo (CA-16) joined local healthcare executives and residents of Santa Clara County to discuss the Republican healthcare crisis and the need to extend the Affordable Care Act (ACA) tax credits.
“Already, Americans in red and blue states are receiving notices that their healthcare premiums for the Affordable Care Act will be significantly higher. At the same time, Medicaid recipients, rural hospitals, nursing homes, and community healthcare clinics are bracing for the largest cut to Medicaid in its history. It’s past time for the Majority, who is in charge of the House, Senate, and White House, to get back to the negotiating table so that we can find that bipartisan path forward to protect our healthcare and lower costs for all Americans,” said Rep. Jimmy Panetta.
“House Republicans have been on vacation for over a month while Americans have been getting notices that their healthcare premiums are soaring,” said Rep. Zoe Lofgren. “If anyone else didn't show up to their job for a month when they knew there's urgent business to deal with, they'd lose that job. Folks in my district are seeing their healthcare costs doubling; thousands will be unable to afford insurance at all. Speaker Johnson needs to call Congress back to DC so we can pass a budget that deals with this healthcare crisis and reopens the government.”
“Families feel the squeeze from every direction. By extending the ACA tax credits, we can help 24,000 of our local neighbors keep their coverage and lower health costs,” said Rep. Sam Liccardo.
Across California’s 19th, 18th, and 16th Districts, 78,000 people will see their healthcare costs rise if Republicans let ACA tax credits expire and nearly 100,000 people will lose health coverage because of Republican cuts to Medicaid (also known in California as Medi-Cal). If ACA tax credits expire, constituents of California’s 19th, 18th, and 16th Districts can see their annual premiums increase by up to 1,135%.
Video of the press conference at Gardner Health Center in San Jose can be found here.
###