IL U.S. Rep says health care crisis caused by failing to extend ACA tax credits

By Jim Talamonti | The Center Square
The Center Square

(The Center Square) – A Democratic Illinois congresswoman says Republicans have caused a health care crisis by not extending Affordable Care Act tax credits. Republicans disagree.

Illinois U.S. Rep. Lauren Underwood spoke at a news conference in Chicago on Monday, marking the 16th anniversary of President Barack Obama signing the legislation.

Underwood said it was her ACA expansion that President Joe Biden signed in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic. The expanded credits expired at the end of 2025, years after the pandemic ended.

“My legislation expanded the tax credits available to working families who enrolled in ACA plans. We made them more generous and available to more Americans,” Underwood said.

Citing data from the Office of Management and Budget, the Tax Foundation said the federal government spent $1.98 trillion on health care in 2024, amounting to 29.4% of the federal budget and 6.9% of GDP.

The Tax Foundation said the federal government spent $2.3 billion for health programs in 1962, representing about 2.1% of the budget and about 0.4% of GDP.

Republicans in Congress said the expanded tax credits cost taxpayers billions of dollars and the reason for them was the pandemic. Now that the pandemic is over, lawmakers should find new ways to reduce the cost of health care, they said.

“This is the Democrats’ health care plan, they have ruined health care for Americans, and the one thing it is not is affordable” U.S. Rep. Mary Miller, R-Ill., told The Center Square in December when extending the credits were being debated. “We think one of the big solutions is to bring back more competition into that and to quit making payments directly to the insurance companies. If you look at a chart of the profits from the insurance companies, you can see it directly correlates to Obamacare and their outrageous profits.”

Underwood said the current administration’s failure to address the tax credits last year caused a health care crisis.

“Donald Trump has ignored this crisis, telling Republicans to, quote, not waste time on extending them,” Underwood said.

Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle joined Underwood by criticizing the Trump administration.

“Local government should not have to backfill for federal disinvestment. Health care is a right, and the federal government has a responsibility to uphold it,” Preckwinkle said.

Anusha Thotakura, executive director of Citizen Action Illinois, said the event in Chicago was one of six held across the state on Monday, marking the anniversary of the Affordable Care Act’s signing in 2010.