Audrey Morse Gasteier

The Republican Health Care Trap, Episode 78 As the shutdown drags on, the GOP croons its old tune: replacing Obamacare.

@citizencohn.bsky.social: "The string of empty promises of a supposedly fantastic, about-to-be-revealed GOP health plan has long been a running joke in Washington...that stretches back more than a decade."

Read the latest Breakdown @thebulwark.com: www.thebulwark.com/p/the-republ...

I hear from informed sources that these #NoKings rallies are more than twice as big as last time, making them easily the largest protests in US history. Thanks to everyone and especially organizers.

Concord, Massachusetts - birthplace of the original American #NOKINGS movement - showing up & showing out at the historic Old North Bridge today.

Higher Obamacare Prices Become Public in a Dozen States

"Based on the newly posted information, a family of four making $130,000 in Maine would face an increase of $16,100 in annual premiums next year...."
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/17/h...

Honored to join Senator Markey yesterday in Dorchester to raise the alarm on the threats to the Massachusetts health care system coming out of new federal policies & the risk of the looming expiration of enhanced ACA Tax Credits. Massachusetts residents’ health and security are on the line.

Illegal Immigrants Are Already Getting Health Care Under Donald Trump The program financing ER care for illegal immigrants has been around for four decades, and not even Trump wants to take it away.

Seems like a good time to revisit why we require hospitals to provide emergency care, no questions asked -- and why we help them with the costs.

And how the president who signed those provisions into law wasn't Joe Biden.

It was Ronald Reagan. www.thebulwark.com/p/government...

White House Senses Political Risk on Healthcare Despite Shutdown Bravado Aides to President Trump are discussing proposals to extend enhanced Obamacare subsidies on which millions of Americans rely.

Hmm.

Free link ⤵️

www.wsj.com/politics/pol...

The Republican Shutdown Argument is a Giant Lie No, Democrats aren’t trying to fund health care for “illegal aliens.”

"Not a single Democrat has talked about wanting to fund care for people in the United States unlawfully. Instead, what Democrats have said is they want to undo Medicaid cuts projected to leave nearly 10 million Americans uninsured." Eh, close enough!

Republicans would rather shut down the government than help millions of Americans afford health care. This article tells some of their stories, and is a good reminder of what’s at stake.

Why are people screaming at a private citizen to do something about Gaza? She’s not in the White House anymore. Meanwhile, the President was in New York, as well. What power do you think she has now?

A Massive Health Care Shock Is Coming And there is little time—and maybe not enough will from Republicans—to avert it.

Republicans could allow the expiration of a Biden-era program that reduced premiums and got record numbers of Americans insured, but that might be risky after running so hard on consumer prices and the cost of living.

Difficult to capture just how much self-destructive policy — undermining long-term energy independence, killing new factory jobs, reversing historic gains in health coverage — Republicans have packed into this one bill

Statement just issued from our bipartisan coalition of State-based Marketplaces, urging the Senate to reject proposals in the reconciliation bill that will result in coverage losses and increased costs for the tens of millions of Americans that depend on ACA Marketplaces for their health care.

Opinion | The One Big Beautiful Bill would tangle Obamacare in red tape Under the legislation now before Congress, millions of people would lose their health insurance.

@anil-blue.bsky.social here you go: wapo.st/40oKti9

Opinion | The One Big Beautiful Bill would tangle Obamacare in red tape Under the legislation now before Congress, millions of people would lose their health insurance.

Thank you to the Washington Post editorial board for shining a bright light on the very real threats to ACA Marketplaces hiding in plain sight in the reconciliation bill. www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...

Do You Have Obamacare or Medicaid Coverage? Tell Us About It.

As Republicans weigh steep cuts, Times reporters want to hear from people who rely on the Affordable Care Act or Medicaid for health insurance.

www.nytimes.com/2025/06/05/u...

Do Republicans Realize Whose Health Care They’re Cutting? Their big beautiful bill is polling terribly, yet somehow Senate leaders may have just made it worse.

GOP leadership strategy so far has leaned heavily on speed and obfuscation

Does make me wonder how much lawmakers understand what they’re voting on—or what it’d do to some of their own constituents

My latest for @thebulwark.com www.thebulwark.com/p/do-republi...

Do Republicans Realize Whose Health Care They’re Cutting? Their big beautiful bill is polling terribly, yet somehow Senate leaders may have just made it worse.

@citizencohn.bsky.social: "For now, almost all elected Republicans seem content to keep going with their big beautiful bill. But they should be spooked—and maybe they will be, once they realize what’s truly in there." www.thebulwark.com/p/do-republi...

Yes, They’re Going After Medicare Too A wonky change in Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill would hammer some of the very people Republicans insist they are protecting.

You might have heard Republicans say their bill wouldn’t touch Medicare

That was a lie

My latest for @thebulwark.com www.thebulwark.com/p/yes-they-a...

Trump’s Big Bill Would Be More Regressive Than Any Major Law in Decades Estimates from the Congressional Budget Office, released Thursday, offer a detailed view into the effects on income groups.

“I’ve never seen anything that simultaneously really goes after poor people and then really helps rich people."

www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

Taking Stock Of The Health Coverage Impacts Of The House Reconciliation Bill | Health Affairs Forefront The US uninsured rate has never risen as far, as fast as it will if the House bill and other looming policy changes affecting insurance coverage take effect; the resulting increase would erase almost ...

"...the US uninsured rate has never risen as far, as fast as it will if the House bill and other looming policy changes affecting insurance coverage take effect"

-- @mattafiedler.bsky.social www.healthaffairs.org/content/fore...

Should it matter what the political ideology of the people who depend on ACA Marketplace coverage is? Of course not. That’s an absurd way to think. But, nevertheless, leaving this here.

The State Marketplace Network put together explainer resources on the Marketplace provisions of the reconciliation bill. The link will take you to one on the overall provisions and another is a deep dive on pre-enrollment verification. statemarketplacenetwork.org/state-market...

Yes! And that’s in no small part due to the excellent work of you, @pamherd.bsky.social, @povertyscholar.bsky.social, and many others. Grateful to be able to lean on your work as we sound the alarms on these threats.

Millions Would Lose Their Obamacare Coverage Under Trump’s Bill

“In many ways, it’s sort of repeal by paper cut."

www.nytimes.com/2025/06/05/u...

Millions Would Lose Their Obamacare Coverage Under Trump’s Bill

"'In many ways, it’s sort of repeal by paper cut,' said @amgasteier.bsky.social, the director of the state marketplace in Massachusetts."

Yes. People Will Die. Joni Ernst’s cringey videos were wrong. They also reveal a lot about the GOP’s desperately dishonest sales job.

“They’ve can’t win the political fight on the merits, so they’re lying. Whether they get away with it will depend, in part, on how many people realize what the Republican bill would really do…’People don’t appreciate the scale and scope of what’s at stake here.’”

open.substack.com/pub/thebulwa...

Republicans face new pressure to extend expiring Obamacare tax credits If the money lapses this year, 5 million are expected to lose coverage and others would face premium hikes in 2026. A new coalition is pushing reluctant GOP lawmakers to extend it.

NEW: Republicans face new pressure to extend expiring Obamacare tax credits

Money to limit premiums expires end of 2025. If so, ~5M lose coverage.

Dems pushing to extend; Rs not inclined.

Big coalition is launching 7-figure ad blitz to ramp up pressure.

www.nbcnews.com/politics/con...

They Are, In Fact, Coming After Obamacare Again Plus: Billy Joel and the value of medical research.

The Republican health care bill would focus its anti-fraud efforts on the behavior of applicants rather than agents and brokers. That makes it hard not to suspect they are simply out to slash government health care assistance.

Highlighting for Joni Ernst:

"If you take Sarah Miller’s research on what the Medicaid expansions did, she found that for every 529 people covered, a life was saved. That means that kicking 13.7 million people off of health insurance would lead to 23,000 more deaths a year in America."