The federal government is in its first full week of being open again, after the shutdown was resolved last week. And U.S. Rep. Richard Neal, D-Springfield, said while some were hurt by the government being closed, it was still worth holding out to try and restore health care subsidies under the Affordable Care Act.
He said he wishes there was another mechanism to make the point about skyrocketing health care rates. And adds there was more to the issue beyond the subsidies.
Democrats made restoring cuts made to those subsidies a condition of resolving the shutdown stalemate. But some in the Senate joined Republicans to make a deal to reopen the government.
Neal said a lot of people were hurt and that he wished there was a different way of putting pressure on Republicans on the matter. He said there is more to the issue than just the ACA issue. There is also the impact on other facets of health care as a result of President Trump’s so called “Big Beautiful Bill,” which became law earlier this year.
"We're not just talking about these health care tax credits, we're talking about what the big bill did and will do to our hospitals in the coming year of 20-26," Neal said. "These hospitals are going to really be harmed by these cuts, as you can see based on the announcement that came from Baystate Medical."
The Republican newspaper reports Springfield-based Baystate Health Systems is offering buyouts to certain employees, citing challenges coming from that legislation.
Neal added that he believes Republicans will face pressure on the subsidies as constituents find out exactly how much more they will have to pay for health care next year, due to the cuts.
Epstein vote could come Tuesday
The U.S. House is expected to vote as soon as Tuesday on whether to release the Epstein Files.
President Donald Trump reversed course over the weekend and told Republicans he should be able to vote in favor of doing so. That was after he had opposed the vote.
Neal said with this, there could still be pressure on Republicans down the road.
"Based upon the President's endorsement of releasing all those documents, it strikes me that you could have more than 300 or more votes in the House of Representatives to release these documents. And if that's the case, that puts enormous pressure on members of the Senate to follow suit.”
A few Republicans joined their House colleagues in signing a discharge petition to force a vote, which was delayed since the House was not in formal session during the government shutdown.
