Washington, D.C. — Congressional Republicans’ Big “Beautiful” Bill would increase average health insurance premiums by 136 percent for the more than 20 million Americans with subsidized coverage through the Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplaces. To distract from this ugly truth, Republicans in the House and Senate are echoing a lie from the White House: Democrats are holding government funding hostage in order to pay for undocumented immigrants’ health care.
A new column from the Center for American Progress Action Fund debunks this lie. Like other federally funded health coverage, the ACA premium tax credits that Republicans are referencing are available only to U.S. citizens and lawfully present immigrants. All enrollees are required to provide a Social Security number or other identifying documents to receive coverage.
“Congressional Republicans are so desperate to distract Americans from the real impacts of their health care agenda that they’re resorting to bald-faced lies,” said Colin Seeberger, senior adviser for Communications at CAPAF and co-author of the column. “As the deadline to fund the government looms ahead, we cannot lose sight of the real pain millions of Americans will experience if Congress doesn’t act.”
Read the column: “Republicans Are Telling Lies About Undocumented Immigrants To Deflect Blame for Health Care Cost Increases They Supported” by Colin Seeberger, Emily Gee, and Natasha Murphy
For more information or to speak with an expert, contact Mishka Espey at [email protected].