WASHINGTON — Vice President J.D. Vance intensified Republican criticism of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) on Sunday, calling its health insurance premium tax credits “vehicles for fraud and waste.” He asserted that reforms must ensure the subsidies reach only “those truly in need,” rather than being misused by insurers.
His remarks came as Senate Democrats push to extend enhanced ACA subsidies set to expire later this year, leveraging the ongoing government shutdown to demand healthcare concessions. Vance’s critique diverges sharply from Democratic priorities, who argue that cutting these subsidies would dramatically raise premiums for millions of Americans.
Vance also reiterated a broader Republican narrative accusing Democrats of wanting to expand federally funded healthcare access to undocumented immigrants — a claim widely disputed by fact-checkers and Democratic lawmakers alike.The White House released a memo asserting that Democrats’ proposal would allocate nearly $200 billion toward healthcare for non-citizens over the next decade, a figure opponents decry as misleading padding.
Meanwhile, the Trump-Vance administration’s efforts to overhaul ACA regulations have faced legal pushback. A federal court in Maryland blocked a proposed “Marketplace Integrity and Affordability” rule, citing risks of stripping coverage from millions and undermining core ACA protections.
As the subsidy extension debate deepens, moderate Senate Democrats floated the idea of imposing an income cap on eligibility as a possible compromise. But with tensions high and the shutdown unresolved, prospects for a bipartisan resolution remain tenuous.
Sources:
Reuters
The Washington Post
Axios
The White House
KFF Health News
Senator Sheldon Whitehouse
Democracy Forward
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