On Wednesday’s broadcast of CNN’s “The Lead,” Rep. Jason Crow (D-CO) responded to a question on the rise in Obamacare premiums increasing separate from the expiration of premium subsidies by saying Republicans shut down the government and “we aren’t going to sit here while premiums for Americans go up 200%, 300%, in many cases, and it sends shockwaves through our medical system, and it’s literally life and death for Americans. We’re just not going to allow that to happen. So, they have to come to us in good faith.”
Host Jake Tapper asked, “[E]arlier today, Obamacare or ACA enrollees got their first looks at the 2026 premiums, premiums that are set to go up, on average, 26%. Now, this is separate from the Obamacare premium subsidies expiring, which is why Democrats say they’ve shut down the government to get those reauthorized, but, just on the issue of premiums, why are prices skyrocketing?”
Crow responded, “Well, first of all, Jake, Democrats didn’t shut down the government. Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress control every branch of our government. They didn’t even come to us. Donald Trump literally went on ‘Fox & Friends’ and said, don’t talk to the Democrats…which is exactly what Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA) did, right? And then they actually shut down Congress. We’re 28 days into a shutdown because Mike Johnson says, we did our job. How in God’s name can you say we’ve done our job and close the doors when the government’s shut down? They need to reopen the government, they need to reopen the House, they need to reopen negotiations. And we are standing by to get this done. But, yeah, we aren’t going to sit here while premiums for Americans go up 200%, 300%, in many cases, and it sends shockwaves through our medical system, and it’s literally life and death for Americans. We’re just not going to allow that to happen. So, they have to come to us in good faith.”
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