[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 208 (Wednesday, December 10, 2025)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8616-S8617]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                               Healthcare

  Mr. REED. Mr. President, the clock is ticking. In a matter of days, 
24 million Americans will see their health insurance premiums double or 
triple.
  Since August and even earlier, Democrats have been imploring 
Republicans to do the right thing and extend the healthcare tax credits 
that will make health insurance affordable. For months, Republicans 
dawdled and dithered.
  Finally, last night, at the eleventh hour, they came up with an 
unworkable, partisan plan that cuts more money out of Medicaid, 
penalizes women who need reproductive health care, and introduces an 
almost Darwinian system that gives people a finite amount of money to 
pay for routine healthcare and little more coverage if they get 
seriously ill and need costly treatment.
  Their plan will not work. More than that, there is no time to 
implement it.
  The solution is simple: Extend the existing tax credits.
  If there are additional bipartisan reforms to reduce costs--and I 
believe there are--let's continue to work on them once we have adopted 
the extension because if we don't pass this bill, we know what will 
happen: The insurance Marketplace will falter, and costs will get 
higher for everyone--everyone--not just those who lose the tax credit, 
but as more money comes out of the system, the insurance companies will 
charge higher rates for everyone. Indeed, too often, when health 
insurance premiums soar, people who used to be able to afford health 
insurance will end up forgoing it altogether. They will still get sick, 
and the cost they can pay will be absorbed by others, perhaps.
  In my State of Rhode Island, 13,000 people are expected to drop 
coverage because of the Republicans' failure to extend the healthcare 
tax credits. That is 13,000 people saying: I give up. I can't afford to 
buy health insurance. I will take my chances and go to the ER if 
something happens.
  People who are relatively healthy may just roll the dice and hope 
they won't need healthcare next year. Other

[[Page S8617]]

people--people who are sick and really need the stability of health 
insurance--have no choice. They will pay the increased premiums and 
will suffer the consequences of that, cutting back on other 
necessities--food, utilities, housing. Some will fall into poverty.
  During this holiday season, we can do something. By simply extending 
the Affordable Care Act tax credits, we can ensure that millions of 
working people can afford their health insurance across this country.
  That is what I will be voting to do shortly, along with many of my 
colleagues. Democrats have put forth a proposal that would extend these 
vital tax credits for the next 3 years, guaranteeing lower healthcare 
costs, lower premiums, for millions of Americans.
  Yesterday--like a student who writes a term paper the night before it 
is due--Senate Republicans finally unveiled their proposal. It is 
highly flawed and partisan, as I have said. But I must give Senators 
Cassidy and Crapo credit for at least acknowledging that this is a 
serious issue for American families because it has been evident that 
the President, the Speaker of the House, and many other colleagues on 
the other side of the aisle would simply prefer to do nothing to 
address the triple-digit premium increases taking effect starting this 
January.
  Why do I say that? Because my Democratic colleagues and I have been 
asking our Republican colleagues for months to join us to extend the 
tax credits, but they have declined. In fact, congressional Republicans 
could have extended the tax credits or their own plan on healthcare 
costs as a part of their massive $4.5 trillion tax bill earlier this 
year. But in all the giveaways in that bill, they could not find a dime 
to address the healthcare costs facing working Americans. Instead, they 
were prepared to let health insurance premiums double for working 
families throughout the country.

  Many of my Republican colleagues who oppose the credit say people 
should have more choice over their healthcare options and more skin in 
the game. What they don't acknowledge is that the ACA tax credits 
empower people to choose health insurance policies that they know will 
meet their needs today and will cover them if and when they need 
coverage for an emergency or for a chronic condition.
  Health savings accounts and the cut-rate policy Republicans want may 
be OK when you are healthy, but they won't help keep families out of 
poverty when they face a real healthcare crisis. What will keep 
families out of poverty? The ACA tax credits. We cannot allow them to 
expire.
  I have already heard from my constituents about it, what it means to 
them, as I am sure every Member of this Senate has.
  Jeffrey from Westerly, RI, wrote this to me:

       I am a retiree on a fixed income purchasing my health 
     insurance through HealthSourceRI. Today, I received a letter 
     in the mail from the State of Rhode Island outlining the 
     shocking details comparing my 2025 medical insurance costs 
     with those projected for 2026.
       To give context, my current health insurance plan for my 
     wife and I costs $1,181.86 per month, and after Advance 
     Premium Tax Credits--

  The tax credits we are talking about in our legislation--

       of $896.58, we pay $285.28. The health insurance plan I 
     have is projected to increase to $1,505.47 in 2026, for a 
     27.4% increase!! That in and of itself seems unconscionable 
     with inflation running about 3% currently. However, the real 
     kicker is that my tax credits are expected to expire and 
     [will] be $0 for 2026, which in real terms to me means that 
     my health insurance monthly costs will skyrocket from $285.28 
     to $1,505.47, for a whopping increase of 428%!!!

  Nino from Wakefield, RI, similarly said:

       I just got my estimated charges for healthcare in 2026 from 
     HealthSourceRI.

  By the way, that is our ACA exchange in Rhode Island.

       My cost is going up by over 300%!!! I can't image how many 
     of the 24 million Americans with ACA healthcare exchanges 
     will lose their healthcare if the subsidies are not 
     reinstated!

  Leigh wrote to me saying:

       [M]y insurance rates will climb on the marketplace from 
     $773 to over $1300 and will be unaffordable. Without health 
     insurance, I will die. I live with rare diseases that pose 
     life threatening effects on a daily basis.
       We have no spare funds for an increase in our health 
     insurance. This administration is trying to take away the 
     only thing that is keeping me alive. I am a productive member 
     of society. I am a defense contractor, I am a graduate 
     student. I am a dog mom. I am a neighbor, friend, and 
     community advocate. I matter.
       Please fight for me. Don't stop fighting for my ability to 
     have health insurance and stay alive. If I go more than 3 
     days without meds, I can end up in the ER with a stroke. I 
     need my job to afford meds. I need health insurance to be 
     able to work. I need a graduate degree to keep my job. I'm 
     supposed to graduate in [December] 2025 with a masters in 
     system engineering. I need a car to get to school to get to 
     my degree. I need meds to drive my car.

  Those are real Americans, working Americans--contributing in this 
case to our national security. Without the tax credits, this young lady 
believes that she will probably die.
  These are real people. They are facing impossible decisions about 
their healthcare. And it is not just happening in Rhode Island; there 
are people like Jeffrey, Nino, and Leigh in every State. The tough 
choices they are facing are entirely avoidable. The bill we are going 
to vote on will do just what is needed--prevent these drastic increases 
in healthcare costs, extend the tax credits, and provide certainty to 
everyone shopping for healthcare right now.
  The more people we get insured, the better it is for everyone. Costs 
go down. When only the sickest people sign up for healthcare, the 
insurance companies have to cover the cost, so prices go up. It 
destabilizes the entire healthcare system. So this is not only bad 
policy directed at people who participate in the Affordable Care Act; 
this is bad policy for an entire healthcare insurance system.
  What is more is that when people have healthcare insurance, they go 
to the doctor; they get preventive care; they get things checked out 
before it is an emergency. And an emergency is typically much more 
expensive. It would mean fewer people showing up at the emergency rooms 
for preventable healthcare crises. It means people could live 
healthier, longer, and work, be more productive, taxpaying members of 
our society.
  I urge my colleagues to extend the tax credits and keep 24 million 
Americans from seeing their premiums double and 5 million Americans 
from losing their healthcare in the coming weeks. It is the right thing 
to do. It is economically a very effective and efficient thing to do. 
And I can't think of anything more in keeping with the morality of 
helping our fellow Americans than allowing these people to continue 
with their health insurance.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Minnesota.