Concord, N.H. – As the federal government shutdown enters its second week, Congresswoman Maggie Goodlander sent a letter, signed by 143 of her colleagues, to Speaker Mike Johnson demanding he immediately reconvene the House of Representatives, join Democrats at the negotiating table, and commit to permanently extending the Affordable Care Act’s Enhanced Premium Tax Credits before millions of Americans are priced out of health care coverage. Congressman Chris Pappas (NH-01) also signed this letter.
The letter comes as the ACA marketplace open enrollment begins on November 1, and hardworking families are already receiving premium increase notices from insurance companies. The letter stresses that Congress cannot wait until the credits officially expire on December 31 — by then, countless Americans will have already been forced to go without health insurance because they can no longer afford it.
“As we enter the second week of the federal government shutdown, we write to you with immediate urgency to call the House back into session, join the negotiating table with Democrats, and commit to protecting the health care of over 24 million Americans – we must end this dangerous and entirely avoidable shutdown of our government. Your decision to cancel votes this week is actively threatening the livelihood of millions,” wrote the lawmakers.
“It’s misleading to claim that Congress has until December 31 to act on extending the credits – as you know, open enrollment for ACA marketplaces begins on November 1, which means that insurers had to file rates by mid-August and many marketplaces have already begun notifying American families of premium increases. The remaining marketplaces that have not started these notifications will be doing so in the coming days. Time is short,” the lawmakers continued.
“As Speaker of the House, we implore you, on behalf of the American people, to bring the House back in session and join us at the negotiating table,” the lawmakers concluded.
Full text of the letter is available here.
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