Yves here. Due to even more frequent and severe Trump whiplashes than usual, such as his forced climbdown on the Epstein files and his flip-flops on Ukraine, many important stories have not gotten the coverage they merit. One is the unresolved problem that triggered the shutdown, that of the expiration of Covid-era enhanced Obamacare subsidies. As most of you know, that program increased Obamacare uptake and reduced the number without medical insurance. This pending change comes as Obamacare premiums are set for a big increase, an average of 26%. Both parties have dithered as the annual sign-up period is set to end in December. Trump has offered the no-solution of a clearly inadequate lump-sum payment.
Having said that, some last-minute action may be on the way:
Bipartisan House members float two-year Obamacare subsidy extension https://t.co/7qW2YPnKrU
— POLITICO (@politico) November 21, 2025
By Brad Reed, staff writer at Common Dreams. Originally published at Common Dreams
In an op-ed published by the Boston Globe on Thursday, Sanders (I-Vt.) denounced the GOP healthcare plans as “absurd” ideas that “would take our already broken healthcare system and make it even worse.”
Sanders then ripped apart Trump’s plan to simply send Americans a lump sum of money that they could use to negotiate their own healthcare package, which he said would be an “absolute disaster.”
“At a time when more than 60 percent of our people live paycheck to paycheck, a $6,500 check is meaningless in the face of real medical costs,” he argued. “How is someone who needs a $150,000 cancer treatment going to get the care they need with a $6,500 check? What is a pregnant woman supposed to do with a $6,500 check when the average cost of childbirth in America is over $20,000? How is someone who has a heart attack going to be able to afford a $50,000 hospital stay with just $6,500?”
All of this, Sanders continued, would simply cause more people in the US to go bankrupt from trying to afford their medical expenses, which is a situation that does not occur in any nation that has universal healthcare.
“Trump’s approach would lead to more medical bankruptcies, more unaffordable care, and more Americans dying unnecessarily in the richest nation on Earth,” he said.
Sanders argued that the long-term solution for the US healthcare crisis is a single-payer Medicare for All system that he has been proposing for his entire political career.
However, he also acknowledged that this proposal currently lacks support in the US Congress, and he pitched some alternative ideas to serve as a bridge to truly universal healthcare, including extending the enhanced tax credits firstpassed in 2021 as part of the American Rescue Plan; repealing the nearly $1 trillion in cuts to Medicaid that were passed by Republicans earlier this year in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act; and expanding Medicare to cover dental, vision, and hearing care.
Sanders also challenged the president to support banning stock buybacks and dividends for health insurance companies, which he called a waste of resources that should be devoted to patients’ care.
“The American people know that our healthcare system is broken,” Sanders concluded. “With the country’s increased focus on health, Democrats must be strong in rallying the American people around a rational healthcare system that works for all, not just insurance and drug companies.”
Sanders on Thursday made similar points in an op-ed published by Fox News in which he ripped the GOP for slashing Medicaid funding simply so Big Tech titans like Tesla CEO Elon Musk could have more money to “build millions of robots that will, by the way, decimate good-paying jobs throughout our country.”
Earlier this week, the senator also sent a letter urging Democrats in Congress to support the policies outlined in his new opinion pieces.
