U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin | Photo by Shauneen Miranda/States Newsroom

WASHINGTON — A trio of Senate Democrats urged Republican lawmakers at a Tuesday press conference to extend and make permanent the enhanced Affordable Care Act tax credits set to expire at the end of 2025.  

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York, along with Sens. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin and Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, warned that the expiration of these credits would lead to “skyrocketing” costs for millions of enrollees unless the GOP-controlled Congress takes action. 

The credits are used by people who buy their own health insurance through the Affordable Care Act Marketplace.

Stopgap spending bill

The extension is among congressional Democrats’ broader health care demands in order to back any stopgap funding bill to avert a government shutdown before the next fiscal year begins Oct. 1. 

House GOP leadership did not negotiate with Democrats on the seven-week stopgap funding bill released on Tuesday.

Schumer, alongside House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York, said in a joint statement Tuesday that “the House Republican-only spending bill fails to meet the needs of the American people and does nothing to stop the looming healthcare crisis.” 

They added that “at a time when families are already being squeezed by higher costs, Republicans refuse to stop Americans from facing double-digit hikes in their health insurance premiums.” 

At the press conference, Baldwin called for legislation she and Shaheen introduced earlier this year that would make the enhanced premium tax credits permanent to be included in the stopgap government funding bill. 

“Time is of the essence — families and businesses are planning for next year, and we need to get this done,” Baldwin said. “The only question is whether Republicans will join us and stand for lower costs for families or not.” 

Shaheen said that “as we near the deadline for government funding, I hope that our colleagues here in Congress will join us, that they will act to extend these tax credits and to keep health insurance affordable for millions of Americans.” 

Premiums expected to soar without action

The enhanced premium tax credits, established by Democrats in 2021 as part of a massive COVID-19 relief package, were extended in 2022 through the Inflation Reduction Act. They are set to expire at the end of 2025.

Premiums, on average, for enrollees would soar by more than 75% if the credits expire, according to the nonpartisan health research organization KFF. 

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said Tuesday at a press conference that “Republicans have concerns” about the credits because they have no income cap and certain high-income people can qualify for them. He also said Congress has until the end of the year to decide what to do.

At the Democrats’ press conference, Schumer said President Donald Trump “has taken a meat ax to our health care system,” adding that “it’s vicious, it’s cruel, it’s mean” and pointing to some of the repercussions of the GOP’s mega tax and spending cut law on Medicaid recipients. 

Meanwhile, open enrollment begins in November, meaning Congress would have to act before the end of the calendar year to avoid premium spikes.  

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There are not tens of millions of unauthorized immigrants in the U.S. receiving federal health care benefits.

The unauthorized population reached a record 14 million in 2023, according to an August 2025 research estimate. 

Unauthorized immigrants are not eligible to enroll in federally funded health coverage. 

That includes Medicaid (low-income people), Medicare (age 65 and over) and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). And they aren’t eligible to buy coverage through the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) marketplaces.

Federal Medicaid can reimburse hospitals for providing emergency care to unauthorized immigrants, but that is not coverage for individuals.

Vice President JD Vance said Aug. 28 in La Crosse, Wisconsin, that health care benefits can’t be sustained “if you allow tens of millions of people” into the U.S. without authorization “and give them those benefits.”

White House spokespersons did not return requests for comment.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

• Pew Research Center: U.S. Unauthorized Immigrant Population Reached a Record 14 Million in 2023
• Congressional Research Service: Noncitizens’ Access to Health Care
• Migration Policy Institute: Immigrants’ Eligibility for U.S. Public Benefits: A Primer
• KFF: Key Facts on Health Coverage of Immigrants
• Migration Policy Institute: Immigrants and the Use of Public Benefits in the United States
• HealthCare.gov: Health coverage for immigrants
• KFF: 5 Key Facts About Immigrants and Medicaid
• Right Side Broadcasting Network: Vice President JD Vance Delivers Remarks in La Crosse, WI – 8/28/25

Do tens of millions of unauthorized immigrants receive federal health benefits? is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

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Millions of nondisabled working-age adults have enrolled in Medicaid since the Affordable Care Act expanded eligibility in 2014.

Medicaid is health insurance for low-income people.

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated that in 2024, average monthly Medicaid enrollment included 34 million nonelderly, nondisabled adults – 15 million made eligible by Obamacare.

Two smaller estimates used U.S. Census survey data.

The White House Council of Economic Advisers said there were 27 million nondisabled working-age (age 19-64) Medicaid recipients in 2024.

That’s similar to the 26 million for 2023 estimated by the nonpartisan health policy organization KFF. That figure includes people who are disabled.

KFF said 44% worked full time and 20% part time, many for small companies, and aren’t eligible for health insurance.

Medicaid costs nearly $900 billion annually, two-thirds from the federal government, one-third from the states.

Forty states, excluding Wisconsin, adopted the Obamacare Medicaid expansion.
Congress is considering President Donald Trump’s proposal adding work requirements for Medicaid.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

• KFF: The Affordable Care Act 101
• U.S. Health and Human Services Department: What’s the difference between Medicare and Medicaid?
• Congressional Budget Office: Medicaid June 2024
• White House Council of Economic Advisers: Medicaid Community Engagement Requirements and the Value of Work
• KFF: Understanding the Intersection of Medicaid and Work: An Update
• Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission: Medicaid Spending by State, Category, and Source of Funds, FY 2023 (millions)
• KFF: 5 Key Facts About Medicaid Expansion

Have millions of nondisabled, working-age adults been added to Medicaid? is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.