Duckworth Calls Out Republicans for Refusing to Help Stop Health Insurance Bills from Skyrocketing for Millions of Families, Including Their Own Constituents

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – At today’s Republican-led Senate Commerce subcommittee hearing, U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) called out her Republican colleagues for holding thishighly partisan hearingin attempt to distract the American people from the pain Republicans continue to cause for millions of families by refusing to help stop ACA premiums from skyrocketing at the end of the year. To underscore the urgency of the looming health care crisis Republicans are trying to evade, Duckworth invited Kansas resident Eileen Spickler to appear as a witness and share her powerful story about how ACA tax credits have allowed her family to afford health insurance for her husband, Barry, whose health depends on it. Full video of Senator Duckworth’sopening remarksandEileen Spickler’s testimonycan be found on the Senator’s YouTube.
“Republicans control the House, the Senate and the White House—if they want someone to blame for the consequences of the shutdown, they should look in the mirror,”said Duckworth.“Democrats have always known that shutdowns are bad, but unlike Republicans, we also want to stop millions from losing their health care coverage or being forced to pay thousands more each month—a looming crisis Republicans still have no plan to address.”
Duckworth continued:“Just as Trump could have paid air traffic controllers or prevented Americans from going hungry if he had wanted to, Republicans could also join Democrats to at the table at any time to help find a bipartisan solution to avert this health care crisis for people like Eileen and her husband, Barry. But shamefully, they’d rather spend their time trying to distract the American people and point fingers at anyone but themselves.”
Spickler’s husband will be forced to forgo insurance because they simply can’t afford to lose the $1,100 in tax relief that enables them to afford monthly premiums.
“In 2025, we paid $109 a month and we received almost $1,200 per month in subsidies. If it weren’t for the premium tax credits, we would not have been able to afford insurance for Barry at all, and honestly, I don’t know where we’d be, or if we’d even be sitting here before you. Access to affordable health insurance is life and death for us,”wrote Eileen Spickler in herprepared statement to the committee.
A full transcript of Spickler’s testimony can be found onSenator Duckworth’s website.
According to the Kansas Hospital Association, refusal to extend current tax law for enhanced premium tax credits would result in:
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