WASHINGTON—Congress may have reopened the government, but it still has to decide what to do with the Obamacare subsidies at the center of the shutdown fight. Senator Bill Cassidy thinks they should go straight to American families — not health insurance companies.
Cassidy, who chairs the Health, Education, Labor &amp; Pensions Committee, told The Daily Wire this week that he was working with Republicans and Democrats alike on a proposal that would give Americans money to pay for care directly, which he says would empower patients and lower costs.
&#8220;There&#8217;s things you have to work through,&#8221; the Louisiana Republican said about his colleagues across the aisle. &#8220;Some think, ‘wait a second,’ that the preconception is, consumer-driven health care — it has to be funded out of the paycheck. I&#8217;m saying, ‘no, it&#8217;s going to be pre-funded with money that would otherwise go to the insurance companies.'&#8221;
Cassidy explained that the enhanced premium subsidies, which were extended during the coronavirus pandemic and are set to expire at the end of this year, would be deposited into Health Savings Accounts controlled by patients.
During the shutdown, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer proposed a plan to extend ACA subsidies for one year. Republicans called the plan &#8220;dead on arrival.&#8221;
On November 8, Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso (R-WY) spoke on the Senate <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XF6vZPmcvlo" target="_blank" rel="noopener">floor</a> and said he believes Americans “deserve quality, affordable health care.”
“And they haven’t gotten that with Obamacare. Reforms are needed that actually lower costs, that protect the taxpayers,&#8221; Barrasso said. &#8220;The American people deserve a full debate about the unaffordability of Obamacare. Senator Schumer’s offer does nothing to address the cost of health care, does nothing to lower premiums, does nothing to reassure the American people.&#8221;
Barrasso said Schumer’s proposal makes “insurance companies richer and taxpayers poorer.”
In a shutdown-ending deal, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) promised Democrats a vote on a healthcare proposal by the second week of December. However, it is unclear what that may be.
On Monday, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) held a press conference and <a href="https://democraticleader.house.gov/media/press-releases/leader-jeffries-affordable-care-act-tax-credits-expire-next-month-and" target="_blank" rel="noopener">slammed</a> Republicans for their refusal to extend the tax credits and said “tens of millions of Americans are about to experience dramatically increased premiums, copays, and deductibles.”
Jeffries previously said he wouldn’t support a one-year extension and was pushing for a three-year extension for the subsidies. However, given that the Senate wouldn&#8217;t even vote on a one-year extension, there&#8217;s little to no chance this would pass.
Cassidy spoke about the proposal on the Senate <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RwcNIRxjBY" target="_blank" rel="noopener">floor</a> last week and proposed the idea to give credits directly to patients and empower them to manage their own health care decisions.
He said Obamacare has “tried to make health insurance affordable” by “throwing billions at it.”
“The problem with that — that doesn’t make healthcare affordable, it just makes the health insurance premium less expensive for those who are on exchanges,” Cassidy said at the time.
“Let’s fix health care, and let’s give the patient the power,” he continued.
President Donald Trump has also <a href="https://x.com/SenBillCassidy/status/1987176209936232807?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">spoken</a> in support of giving money directly to the people, most recently in a Nov. 8 Truth Social post.
“We were so totally in sync,&#8221; Cassidy told reporters of the president on Monday. &#8220;He wants to take dollars that would go to an insurance company and send them to the individual.&#8221;
Initially, Cassidy pitched his proposal through flexible spending accounts — but he said he believes Health Savings Accounts would be the better route.
“As it turns out, it&#8217;s more practical, and I can tell you why, to do it through the Health Savings Account, which he proposed, but it&#8217;s still the same thing,&#8221; Cassidy said. &#8220;I think it&#8217;s a melding of a vision, and to say it&#8217;s a melding implies they were different beforehand. This is exactly what he&#8217;s expressing, exactly what I was expressing.&#8221;
The proposal has publicly received support from Sen. Bernie <a href="https://x.com/SenBillCassidy/status/1987244986044158318?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Moreno</a> (R-OH) and interest from Sen. Maria <a href="https://x.com/SenBillCassidy/status/1987670490031554716?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Cantwell</a> (D-WA).
“I think this has got a lot of appeal to conservatives,&#8221; Cassidy told reporters. &#8220;I love it, but I think it&#8217;s got a lot of appeal to people who are left of center, too.&#8221;
While the bill text has not yet been released, Cassidy is confident that if the Senate were to pass the idea, the president would ask House Speaker Mike Johnson to consider it on the floor, and the president will sign it because “it&#8217;s consistent with the policy that he has put forward.”
The Senate Finance Committee is <a href="https://www.finance.senate.gov/hearings/the-rising-cost-of-health-care-considering-meaningful-solutions-for-all-americans">holding a hearing</a> on the enhanced Obamacare subsidies on Wednesday.

Sen Bill Cassidy

‘Give The Patient The Power’: Cassidy Says Subsidies Should Go To Families, Not Insurance Companies

bill Cassidy

Donald Trump

Health Care

Health Insurance

Obamacare

Congress gears up for a fight over the fate of Obamacare, Hollywood suffers a monstrous slump, and a federal contracting program aimed at minority-owned businesses fields fraud accusations.
It’s Friday, November 14, 2025, and this is the news you need to know to start your day. Today’s edition of the Morning Wire podcast can be heard below, and the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/mrn-251114-member-exclusive">video version can be seen on The Daily Wire</a>:
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<h2 style="text-align: center;">Lawmakers Prepare For Battle Over Obamacare</h2>
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Topline: With the shutdown finally ended, the fight between Democrats and Republicans over healthcare subsidies and the fate of Obamacare is only ramping up.
Obamacare subsidies were expanded in 2021 during the COVID pandemic. The subsidies, which are technically tax credits, were supposed to last only 2 years, but Democrats extended them through the end of this year.
Currently, about 24 million Americans are on Obamacare plans, up from 11 million at the start of the pandemic. It’s a considerable increase, mainly due to subsidies. It’s <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/articles/how-would-eliminating-0-marketplace-premiums-affect-insurance-coverage/?utm_source=chatgpt.com">estimated</a> that about 42% of 2025 Affordable Care Act (ACA) enrollees pay less than $10 a month, with a vast majority paying nothing at all. Notably, Democrats removed the income cap on subsidy eligibility, so people earning over 400% of the federal poverty level qualify for these subsidies, too.
The cost: The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) says that extending the subsidies through 2035 would increase the federal deficit by about $358 billion.
Democrats’ message: Democrats reportedly want to make the midterms about healthcare. Their message is that inaction from Republicans will drive up healthcare costs for millions of Americans.
Morning Wire spoke to Ryan Long, a Senior Research Fellow at Paragon Health Institute, to explain all of this. He said that if these subsidies expire as scheduled, people on ACA plans will once again return to paying something, even if it’s just a small amount, instead of having access to $0 plans. Those $0 plans, he said, have actually led to widespread fraud and abuse.
GOP’s message: Republicans generally want the subsidies to expire when the Democrats scheduled them to expire. They argue that Obamacare is a failure and needs serious reforms or a complete overhaul. Premiums, for example, rose <a href="https://www.cms.gov/cciio/resources/forms-reports-and-other-resources/downloads/uninsured-affordability-in-marketplace.pdf">143%</a> in the first six years after the ACA took effect. Next year, premiums are set to rise another <a href="https://www.kff.org/quick-take/aca-insurers-are-raising-premiums-by-an-estimated-26-but-most-enrollees-could-see-sharper-increases-in-what-they-pay/?utm_source=chatgpt.com">26%</a>.
As for the fate of Obamacare, President Donald Trump has ramped up calls to move on from the “Obamacare madness.”
&#8220;I am calling today for insurance companies NOT to be paid. But for this massive amount of money be paid directly to the people so they can buy their own healthcare,&#8221; <a href="https://x.com/EricLDaugh/status/1988810290767548793?s=20">said</a> Trump.
<h2 style="text-align: center;">Hollywood’s Serious Slump</h2>
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Topline: Hollywood is in a major slump, with October marking the worst box office revenues in nearly 30 years. Even Halloween weekend, usually a horror cash machine, failed to draw audiences.
With the exception of the COVID-19 shutdown year of 2020, when theaters were closed, October was the worst box-office month since 1997. Halloween weekend had the worst earnings in 31 years. The biggest culprit appears to be the lack of must-see content.
The numbers: Disney’s &#8220;Tron: Ares&#8221; opened to $38 million — the franchise’s worst debut. A24’s &#8220;The Smashing Machine&#8221; with Dwayne Johnson got $11 million. The Bruce Springsteen biopic earned $9 million. The total October take was $425 million.
The first couple of releases of November aren’t faring any better. &#8220;Christie,&#8221; starring Sydney Sweeney, came out last week and was a major flop. Some are suggesting politics played a role, but given Sweeney’s popularity, that isn’t very likely. The most probable explanation is that Sweeney’s young male fan base wasn’t especially interested in seeing her look nothing like herself playing a boxer.
Expert says: Veteran Comscore analyst Paul Dergarabedian <a href="https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1489424842344237">told</a> finance outlet, Cheddar News, that a couple of Japanese anime movies outperformed expectations, and without them, the story here would be even worse.
“There was just nothing commercially exciting enough to mainstream audiences to drive them in huge numbers. And you know, last year, there was a Venom movie that opened at $50 million in October. We didn&#8217;t have that this year. And so I think that definitely hurt the box office,” said Dergarabedian.
The deeper issues: The ongoing disruption of streaming and social media is always at play, but not necessarily in the way typically thought. Many veteran filmmakers are starting to talk about the problem of what gets greenlit — they say studios are playing it safe and aren’t willing to gamble on creative, out-of-the-box ideas, so audiences are getting tired of seeing the same old thing.
Directors like Michael Bay and James Cameron are warning that something bigger may be broken. In an interview a few months ago, Bay voiced frustration over what he called “a system afraid of risk.” Now, he’s the king of big-studio blockbusters, but he said he’s moving into independent filmmaking so he can be more creative.
And he said that Cameron told him that no individual executives are empowered to greenlight anything anymore. The result is too many sequels, too few original ideas, and a growing reliance on algorithms to decide what gets made.
<h2 style="text-align: center;">Crackdown On Minority Contracting Fraud</h2>
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Topline: The Trump administration is <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/feds-crack-down-on-minority-contracting-schemes-d-c-s-worst-kept-secret">turning</a> its eye on a long-running DEI program that may be one of Washington’s most corrupt. The federal government awards a percentage of contracts to companies whose owners are “socially disadvantaged.” But they might not even be the ones doing the work. 
At issue is a process known as 8(a) contracting or “set-aside” contracting, where certain contracts, which could be for tens of millions of dollars, are either given to one company with no competition, or limited so that only “disadvantaged” companies are eligible to compete – essentially, racial minorities and women-owned companies.
This way of contracting is likely behind much of the poor performance in government, such as websites seeming old-fashioned and broken. But this has been the way Washington works for decades. Typically, GOP-favored interest groups such as disabled veterans and Alaskan native corporations have gotten a share. And then big, non-minority-owned companies end up doing much of the actual work as subcontractors.
ATI: One company, ATI Government Solutions, seemed to admit to the cozy dealmaking in an <a href="https://x.com/JamesOKeefeIII/status/1981042870460252398">expose</a> put out by undercover activist James O’Keefe last month.
ATI is a company that gets contracts because it’s owned by Native Americans, though on ATI’s website, all the executives listed appear to be white.
The website is almost entirely focused on selling the idea that it’s easier for government officials to skip holding a competition to find the best company for a job. Meanwhile, big companies can get a shortcut to a government contract by working with ATI, which essentially has an automatic in because it’s partly owned by an Indian tribe.
Seems sus: Kelly Loeffler, the head of the Small Business Administration, said there’s a “full review of the 8(a) program” underway that has found “institutionalized abuse” to the tune of billions.
Loeffler said ATI’s CEO, Firmadge Crutchfield, had a network of seven companies, all of which had been suspended from receiving new contracts, and that their names were provided to law enforcement. 
Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA), chair of the Senate Small Business Committee, said the Biden administration tripled the goal for minority set-asides from 5% to 15%, and did little to make sure they were actually doing the work, instead of serving as pass-throughs. 
“Small business contracting programs were never intended to function as welfare systems for favored classes or give no-bid contracts to do-nothing companies,” Ernst said, adding that over the decades, “penalties against rulebreakers have not been swiftly and resolutely imposed.”

MRN_251114_V1

Morning Brief: Obamacare Battle Brews, Hollywood Slump, & D.C.’s DEI Rackets

Hollywood

Kelly Loeffler

Morning Wire

Small Business Administration

Sydney Sweeney

Washington D.C.

Democrats are lashing out at the eight senators from their own party who voted to reopen the government without securing more federal subsidies for the Affordable Care Act &#8212; but a new survey of small business owners reveals that Democrats&#8217; favorite health care policy may not be playing well with the American electorate.
“The cost of health insurance has gone up every year since the ACA,” a Pennsylvania manufacturer told the National Federation of Independent Business. “No small business can keep up with the costs.&#8221;
Health insurance premiums rose <a href="https://www.cms.gov/cciio/resources/forms-reports-and-other-resources/downloads/uninsured-affordability-in-marketplace.pdf">143%</a> in the first six years after the ACA, colloquially known as Obamacare, took effect. Next year, premiums are set to rise <a href="https://www.kff.org/quick-take/aca-insurers-are-raising-premiums-by-an-estimated-26-but-most-enrollees-could-see-sharper-increases-in-what-they-pay/?utm_source=chatgpt.com">26%</a> on average. Democrats say these rising premiums justify Congress approving <a href="https://www.cbo.gov/publication/61734">$24.6 billion</a> worth of taxpayer-funded subsidies, while Republicans say the need to spend billions offsetting premium costs proves that the ACA is unaffordable and unsustainable.
&#8220;The increase will surely kill many small businesses in the next couple of years,&#8221; the Pennsylvania manufacturer said. &#8220;Soon I will no longer be able to offer health insurance to my employees. In turn, this will cost me good employees.&#8221;
He&#8217;s not the only one feeling the crunch.
&#8220;It is becoming increasingly difficult to provide medical insurance that the company and employees can afford,&#8221; a manufacturer from Ohio added.
Obamacare prices were at the heart of the longest government shutdown in American history, which the Senate voted to break Monday night after 41 days. Republicans pushed for a continuing resolution to reopen the government, while Democrats refused to agree unless the measure included a one-year extension of ACA subsidies.
From the Senate Floor, Democratic Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) argued preserving the ACA was essential.
&#8220;I must vote no [to reopen the government] because health care prices are so severe, so urgent, and so devastating for families back home,&#8221; Schumer said. &#8220;I cannot support this CR that fails to address the health care crisis.&#8221;
The National Federation of Independent Business&#8217; optimism index fell 0.6 points in October, according to the report. The sharpest contributor to October’s dip was a deterioration in earning trends, with 25% of owners reporting lower profits. NFIB’s Chief Economist Bill Dunkelberg reported the government shutdown likely played a role, as the Uncertainty Index fell 12 points to its lowest reading this year.
Despite the pullback, optimism among small businesses remains three points above the low from earlier this year and above its 52-year average of 98. Confidence hit its lowest point in April amid market volatility and tariff-related uncertainty, before rebounding midyear as conditions stabilized.
The labor market continues to frustrate small employers. Like last month, small businesses reported a tight labor market with labor quality remaining the most significant problem in October. Small businesses report struggling to compete with large corporations offering higher wages, signing bonuses, and more comprehensive benefits.
The gap is most apparent in skilled trades, where 28% of small businesses reported job openings they can’t fill. Jobs for electricians, plumbers, welders, HVAC technicians, and construction workers are among the hardest to supply. <a href="https://www.nfib.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/NFIB-SBET-Report-Oct.-2025.pdf">Nearly half (49%)</a> of small businesses in the construction industry reported not being able to find construction workers.
This trend was years in the making. Fewer young people have pursued vocational programs and many older, experienced tradespeople have retired. According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average age in the manufacturing industry is 44 and the <a href="https://www.bls.gov/cps/cpsaat18b.htm">average age</a> of a construction worker is 42, signaling an aging workforce.
However, there may be reason for cautious optimism. Recent studies suggest that Gen Z is increasingly turning toward <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/mike-rowe-reacts-to-rise-in-skilled-trade-enrollment-calls-gen-z-the-next-toolbelt-generation">trade careers</a>, motivated by higher education costs and concerns that artificial intelligence could disrupt traditional white-collar jobs.
While overall small business optimism has cooled in recent months, the survey reports that business &#8220;won’t be pleasant until the shutdown is ended.” With the reopening of the government, many business owners expect the negative impacts of the shutdown to reverse.

Shutdown Risks Leaving Millions With Costlier Health Insurance

Small Business Owners Are Sick Of Rising Obamacare Costs

Economy

Government Shutdown

Small Businesses

U.S.

President Donald Trump on Saturday morning proposed that Senate Republicans scrap Obamacare, which he called &#8220;the worst Healthcare anywhere in the World,&#8221; and instead direct the hundreds of billions of dollars in funding for insurance companies to the American people.
&#8220;I am recommending to Senate Republicans that the Hundreds of Billions of Dollars currently being sent to money sucking Insurance Companies in order to save the bad Healthcare provided by ObamaCare, BE SENT DIRECTLY TO THE PEOPLE SO THAT THEY CAN PURCHASE THEIR OWN, MUCH BETTER, HEALTHCARE, and have money left over,&#8221; he posted to Truth Social.
&#8220;In other words, take from the BIG, BAD Insurance Companies, give it to the people, and terminate, per Dollar spent, the worst Healthcare anywhere in the World, ObamaCare,&#8221; Trump added.
The president also threw in an &#8220;unrelated&#8221; comment, writing, &#8220;we must still terminate the Filibuster!&#8221;
<div id="attachment_997925" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-997925" class="wp-image-997925 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Screenshot-2025-11-08-at-10.02.45-AM-1024x503.png" alt="" width="1024" height="503" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Screenshot-2025-11-08-at-10.02.45-AM-1024x503.png 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Screenshot-2025-11-08-at-10.02.45-AM-300x147.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Screenshot-2025-11-08-at-10.02.45-AM-768x377.png 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Screenshot-2025-11-08-at-10.02.45-AM.png 1396w" sizes=" (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />Truth Social</div>
Senator Rick Scott (R-FL) said he agreed with Trump and proposed Health Savings Account-style accounts for Americans with the returned money.
&#8220;I’m writing the bill right now,&#8221; he said on X. &#8220;We must stop taxpayer money from going to insurance companies and instead give it directly to Americans in HSA-style accounts and let them buy the health care they want. This will increase competition &amp; drive down costs.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Totally agree, <a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@POTUS</a>! I’m writing the bill right now.
We must stop taxpayer money from going to insurance companies and instead give it directly to Americans in HSA-style accounts and let them buy the health care they want. This will increase competition &amp; drive down costs. <a href="https://t.co/GbTdbTWP8b">pic.twitter.com/GbTdbTWP8b</a>
— Rick Scott (@SenRickScott) <a href="https://twitter.com/SenRickScott/status/1987165587890717168?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 8, 2025</a></blockquote>
Last month, Trump similarly slammed Obamacare, posting on Truth Social, “As I have said for years, OBAMACARE IS A DISASTER! Rates are going through the roof for really bad healthcare!!! Do something Democrats!!!”
The government has been shut down since October 1, marking the longest shutdown in U.S. history. Republicans say Democrats are at fault, since they have refused to vote more than a dozen times for a clean continuing resolution bill that maintains current funding levels without any policy changes, and are instead demanding certain Obamacare subsidies.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said this past week that Democrats want to force American taxpayers to fund health care for illegal immigrants, leading to the stalemate. Johnson said last month that there needs to be serious reform to Obamacare.
“The expiring ObamaCare subsidy at the end of the year is a serious problem,&#8221; he <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5582573-trump-democrats-obamacare-costs/">said</a>. &#8220;If you look at it objectively, you know that it is subsidizing bad policy. We’re throwing good money at a bad, broken system, and so it needs real reforms.&#8221;
Democrats say Republicans are to blame for the shutdown because they aren’t on board with the Obamacare subsidies they want.
Democrats view health care as a winning issue for them and reportedly want to make it the centerpiece of the midterm elections. “I think that one of the reasons of many that the Democrats had so much success is an appreciation the Democrats are trying to protect health care for the American people,” Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/5592180-hard-line-democrats-lean-in-to-obamacare-fight-after-tuesday-sweep/">said</a> on Wednesday, one day following Democrat success at the polls.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/why-er-wait-times-are-so-out-of-control-and-how-to-fix-them">Why ER Wait Times Are So Out Of Control — And How To Fix Them</a>

Trump: Give Americans ‘Hundreds Of Billions Of Dollars’ Back, ‘Terminate’ Obamacare

Congress

Health

Politics

A health insurance giant gave half a million dollars to Governor Gavin Newsom’s Ballot Measure Committee, a driving force behind a controversial redistricting effort that would give Democrats even more seats in California.
Blue Shield of California has <a href="https://cal-access.sos.ca.gov/Campaign/Committees/Detail.aspx?id=1010653&amp;view=contributions">donated</a> $500,000 to the committee, which backs the “Yes on 50” effort. Californians will vote next week on <a href="https://voterguide.sos.ca.gov/quick-reference-guide/50.htm">Proposition 50</a>, which would likely give Democrats five additional seats in Congress.
Reached for comment, Blue Shield of California denied supporting Proposition 50, claiming its donation was not intended for a particular ballot initiative and that it routinely makes bipartisan donations. But Proposition 50  is the <a href="https://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/ballot-measures/qualified-ballot-measures">only measure</a> on the ballot in California this year.
It’s not surprising that Blue Shield of California would support Proposition 50. The company has called on Congress to extend COVID-era Obamacare subsidies — a $350 billion proposal at the center of the government shutdown debate. Five additional seats would give Democrats the leverage they need to extend these subsidies in the future — ensuring insurance giants continued access to federal funds.
Blue Shield of California claims that it has no position on Proposition 50. But the records tell a different story. 
The company made two payments of $250,000 — one on April 24 and another on July 16, according to the California Secretary of State’s <a href="https://cal-access.sos.ca.gov/Campaign/Committees/Detail.aspx?id=1010653&amp;view=contributions">website</a>. California <a href="https://cadem.org/yes-on-proposition-50-faq/">Democrats</a> describe Proposition 50 as “a direct response to a Republican power grab orchestrated by President Trump and state leaders in Texas, who redrew Congressional district lines to gain five more seats in the U.S. House of Representatives.”
Blue Shield of California told The Daily Wire that it has neither made contributions to Proposition 50 nor taken a position on the measure. After The Daily Wire sent Blue Shield receipts of the contributions to Newsom’s Ballot Measure Committee, and pointed out that the official California <a href="https://voterguide.sos.ca.gov/quick-reference-guide/50.htm">voter guide</a> lists “Governor Newsom’s Ballot Measure Committee” under the “For” section of Proposition 50, it said the donations came before Newsom’s intentions were known. 
The company said it “made its contributions in April and July 2025 — months before the Governor announced his redistricting initiative or amended the committee to support Proposition 50.”
A look at the Proposition 50 timeline belies that claim. 
On July 3, the <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2025/07/03/redistricting-texas-california-democrats-retaliation-trump-newsom/">Texas Tribune</a> reported that people in Newsom’s orbit had signaled his willingness to counter any redistricting in Texas with a similar move in California to offset potential Republican gains. On July 9, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott <a href="https://redistricting.capitol.texas.gov/2020s_timeline">announced</a> a special session that included redistricting legislation.
Blue Shield of California made its second contribution a week later. On August 14, Newsom officially announced a special election for the ballot measure. 
Given that Blue Shield of California has not taken a public position on Proposition 50, and claims it has not donated to the measure, The Daily Wire asked which ballot initiative it believed it was supporting when contributing to“Governor Newsom’s Ballot Measure Committee, and whether they were concerned their donation was being used for the “Yes on 50” campaign.
The company did not respond to the follow-up question. 
In its initial response, Blue Shield noted that it regularly makes bipartisan political contributions to “advance our mission of delivering high-quality, affordable health care for all Californians.”
Again, a closer look at Blue Shield’s donations casts doubt on that claim.
The two $250,000 contributions to Newsom’s initiative were by far the largest this year, with dozens of other contributions ranging from $1,900 to $50,000. Among them, the company donated $50,000 to the California Democratic Party and $20,000 to the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual &amp; Transgender Caucus Leadership Fund, which primarily <a href="https://www.transparencyusa.org/ca/committee/lgbt-lesbian-gay-bisexual-and-transgender-caucus-leadership-fund-1339123-rcp/payees" target="_blank" rel="noopener">supports</a> Democratic candidates.
In June, the Blue Shield of California Foundation <a href="https://blueshieldcafoundation.org/grants/faqs">awarded</a> the governor’s office a $200,000 grant for an “evaluation design for the California Racial Equity Commission framework.” The foundation is funded “entirely by contributions from Blue Shield of California,” their website states.
About three weeks after making the second donation, Blue Shield of California <a href="https://news.blueshieldca.com/2025/08/05/blue-shield-of-california-joins-more-than-25-national-health-groups-to-urge-leaders-in-congress-to-extend-affordable-care-act-tax-credits">called</a> on Congress to extend Affordable Care Act tax credits, which are currently at the center of the ongoing government shutdown.
Obamacare tax credits lower the monthly premiums people pay for coverage in state and federal Marketplaces, according to <a href="https://news.blueshieldca.com/2025/08/05/blue-shield-of-california-joins-more-than-25-national-health-groups-to-urge-leaders-in-congress-to-extend-affordable-care-act-tax-credits">Blue Shield</a>. The Marketplace sends the tax credits directly to insurance companies, according to its <a href="https://www.hhs.gov/healthcare/about-the-aca/index.html">website</a>.
These tax credits have always been available to the poorest Americans. But during the coronavirus pandemic, Congress temporarily expanded eligibility for these subsidies. The extended credits were set to expire this year. Democrats’ fight to make them permanent — a move the Congressional Budget Office says would cost $350 billion over a decade — led to what, as of this writing, is the second-longest government shutdown in history.
In an August 5 <a href="https://news.blueshieldca.com/2025/08/05/blue-shield-of-california-joins-more-than-25-national-health-groups-to-urge-leaders-in-congress-to-extend-affordable-care-act-tax-credits">letter</a>, Blue Shield of California warned that if Congress fails to extend the credit, “the cost of health insurance will skyrocket, with typical American families forced to pay hundreds or even thousands of dollars more each month to keep their coverage.”
Blue Shield reported that its premiums will <a href="https://www.blueshieldca.com/content/dam/bsca/en/broker/docs/2026/ifp/2026-Rate-information-for-non-grandfathered-medical-plans.pdf">increase</a> by an average of 9.3% in 2026. In 2025, the company reported its premiums <a href="https://www.blueshieldca.com/content/dam/bsca/en/broker/docs/2024/ifp/2025-IFP-Rate-Disclosure.pdf">increased</a> by an average of 8%. 
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise told The Daily Wire that Democrats are “holding the American people hostage over free health care for illegal aliens and bailouts for insurance companies.”
“And now, these same insurance companies, who are complaining that they need billions in taxpayer bailouts while they raise premiums on struggling families, are turning around and spending half a million dollars to fund Gavin Newsom’s political ambitions instead of decreasing the premiums they chose to increase,” Scalise said.
“We strongly support the extension of the advanced premium tax credits to protect our members&#8217; access to affordable health care,” Blue Shield told The Daily Wire.
Brittany Madni, Executive Vice President of the Economic Policy Innovation Center, told The Daily Wire that it is “no surprise Blue Shield of California doesn’t want to admit to their role in this subsidy scam.”
“I’m not sure what’s worse: outright contributing half a million dollars to Governor Newsom’s Prop 50 campaign or blindly handing it over to use in his slush fund,” Madni said.
Madni said the company is “playing the game Obamacare set the rules for while American patients can neither afford nor access care.”
More than half of likely voters are expected to vote for Proposition 50, a poll <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2025/10/29/poll-most-californians-vote-yes-proposition-50-00625982">released</a> this week found. On Tuesday, Newsom announced they had raised enough money to pass Proposition 50 and <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/5577459-newsom-urges-donors-stop-prop50/">told</a> supporters, “You can stop donating.”

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A Health Insurance Giant Quietly Bankrolls Gavin Newsom’s Partisan Power Grab

California

Gavin Newsom

Redistricting

In Washington, D.C., a politician’s words don’t count for much. What counts are their actions, and who benefits from them.
When you look behind the spin and empty talking points, illegal aliens and big insurance companies benefit most from the Democrats’ ongoing filibuster of the budget and government shutdown.
First, illegal aliens and other non-citizens stand to gain roughly <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/white-house-memo-says-democrats-plan-could-spend-200b-healthcare-illegal-immigrants" target="_blank" rel="noopener">$200 billion</a> in welfare benefits under Democrat proposals to cancel reforms passed by Republicans earlier this year.
Congress had to close Obama and Biden-era loopholes that provided welfare to illegal aliens, including bonus money for <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/articles/2025/10/fact-democrats-shut-down-government-over-free-healthcare-for-illegals/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">illegal aliens</a>’ “emergency” Medicaid, ObamaCare <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/articles/2025/10/fact-democrats-shut-down-government-over-free-healthcare-for-illegals/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">funding</a> for non-citizens, lax oversight that let illegal aliens enroll with <a href="https://thefga.org/research/loopholes-fueling-illegal-alien-medicaid-obamacare-benefits/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">stolen identities</a>, and the “<a href="https://www.cms.gov/newsroom/press-releases/cms-moves-shut-down-medicaid-loophole-protects-vulnerable-americans-saves-billions" target="_blank" rel="noopener">California loophole</a>,” which forced federal taxpayers to fund blue states’ welfare spending on illegal aliens.
All told, the Democrats’ plans would put taxpayers back on the hook for billions in welfare for illegal aliens, and they’re willing to shut down the government to get it.
The second beneficiary of the Democrats’ shutdown is the big insurance companies.
That’s thanks to one of President Joe Biden’s COVID-era bonus programs: a temporary policy to expand ObamaCare subsidies to insurance companies — more recently known as “<a href="https://paragoninstitute.org/private-health/the-great-obamacare-enrollment-fraud/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Great ObamaCare Enrollment Fraud</a>.”
During COVID, Democrats significantly increased taxpayer-funded Obamacare subsidies at every level, including those who make up to <a href="https://thefga.org/research/bidens-covid-credits-are-obamacare-expansion-congress-should-allow-expire/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">half a million dollars</a>. For the typical enrollee, taxpayers paid 100% of the premiums for a platinum-plus plan that had no deductible and few copays.
At the time, Biden’s COVID bonus was sold as a temporary boost with an expiration date — December 31, 2025 — a date unilaterally <a href="https://clerk.house.gov/Votes/2022420" target="_blank" rel="noopener">chosen</a> and <a href="https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_votes/vote1172/vote_117_2_00325.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">agreed to</a> by the<a href="https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/R48290#:~:text=The%20Fiscal%20Year%20(FY)%202022%20Budget%20Reconciliation%20Law%20(P.L.%20117%2D169)%20extended%20the%20ARPA%20provision%20for%20three%20additional%20tax%20years%2C%202023%20through%202025." target="_blank" rel="noopener"> Democrats</a> in charge.
These are the credits the Democrats just shut down the government to protect.
The problem is: low-income workers aren’t the biggest beneficiaries of this plan. Insurance companies are.
The Obamacare tax credits are sent every month directly to the insurance company, regardless of what plan the enrollee chooses, and regardless of whether the enrollee uses them. Unsurprisingly, the most generous plans are selected the most often: platinum-plus. The average annual subsidy for this group has risen to about <a href="https://www.cms.gov/data-research/statistics-trends-reports/marketplace-products/2025-marketplace-open-enrollment-period-public-use-files" target="_blank" rel="noopener">$7,500 per person,</a> from the taxpayers’ pockets straight to the insurance companies’ bottom lines.
That didn’t just incentivize sign-ups — it turbocharged fraud.
Today, the Centers for Medicare &amp; Medicaid Services reports a <a href="https://www.cms.gov/files/document/cms-9884-f-2025-pi-rule-master-5cr-062025.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">greater number of sign-ups</a> than the entire population of eligible Americans. Somehow, these Obamacare subsidies are being used by more enrollees than exist in the entire eligibility pool — and in some states, enrollment is five times the number of eligible enrollees.
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Insurance brokers and agents are paid a commission on sign-ups no matter how they were generated. That means taxpayer money is rewarding <a href="https://www.wsj.com/health/healthcare/social-media-ads-health-insurance-scams-37d1ecfa" target="_blank" rel="noopener">open fraud</a>, <a href="https://www.wsj.com/health/healthcare/social-media-ads-health-insurance-scams-37d1ecfa" target="_blank" rel="noopener">stolen identities</a>, and people being signed up or switched <a href="https://www.wsj.com/health/healthcare/social-media-ads-health-insurance-scams-37d1ecfa" target="_blank" rel="noopener">without their knowledge or permission</a>.
As further proof of fraud, a stunning <a href="https://thefga.org/research/bidens-covid-credits-are-obamacare-expansion-congress-should-allow-expire/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">40%</a> of zero-premium enrollees made no health-care claims at all in 2024 — no doctor visit, no lab tests, no prescriptions filled. The number of no-claim enrollees has increased more than sixfold since 2020.
Altogether, taxpayers are now sending more than $53 billion every year directly to insurance companies for people who never use these plans, don&#8217;t know they have them, or don&#8217;t even exist.
Still, congressional Democrats are so committed to protecting this taxpayer giveaway that they shut down the government to demand its extension.
Even when these credits do expire, taxpayers will still cover more than 90% of the premiums. The average enrollee will pay only $3 to $14 per week for platinum-plus plans.
The voters saw through this nonsense when they gave Republicans their majorities in Congress — in no small part because of their pledges on government spending and illegal immigration.
So why would Republicans cave on both issues today, simply to save the Democrats from having to eat their words?
Jonathan Ingram is the Vice President of Policy and Research at the Foundation for Government Accountability.
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The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
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Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY)

Who Benefits From Democrats’ Shutdown Plan? Illegal Aliens And Big Insurance

Chuck Schumer

Illegal Immigation

Nearly two-thirds of Americans want COVID-era federal programs to come to an end, as Democrats demand that any government funding bill include an extension of health care subsidies that were introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new <a href="https://www.scribd.com/document/929542118/Polling-on-ACA-Enhanced-Subsidies-Top-Line-docx?secret_password=sN1T3iUcGZSAHeyfI3eD">poll</a>.
Sixty-one percent of Americans said that the federal government should allow COVID-era subsidies to end, according to a poll conducted last week by the Republican-aligned firm OnMessage Public Strategies, Inc., that was shared with The Daily Wire.
Those surveyed were asked whether “the federal government should allow programs that were designed deliberately to address the problems created by the COVID-19 pandemic to sunset, and put those funds to more pressing issues facing Americans.&#8221; Thirty-nine percent of those surveyed strongly agreed with the statement, and 22% somewhat agreed, while only 15% strongly disagreed, and another 15% somewhat disagreed, also wanting to keep the COVID-19 Affordable Care Act subsidies alive.
The poll surveyed 1,000 Americans. Thirty-eight percent of those polled identified as Republicans, and 33% of the participants identified as Democrats. Another 26% of those surveyed identified as independent.
Affordable Care Act subsidies have been a major part of the ongoing government shutdown negotiations on Capitol Hill. Under former President Joe Biden&#8217;s Inflation Reduction Act, those health care subsidies, that were meant to address issues during COVID, were extended through the end of this year. However, Democrats want the subsidies made permanent, arguing that insurance premiums would skyrocket and low-income Americans would be forced to drop their coverage. The Congressional Budget Office <a href="https://www.politico.com/newsletters/politico-pulse/2025/10/02/breaking-down-the-aca-subsidy-fight-00590901">estimated</a> that by 2034, four million people who would have had insurance will be uninsured if the subsidies are not extended.
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The OnMessage poll found drastically different results than a similar poll conducted by the health policy organization KFF last week. A KFF survey published on October 3 found that 78% of Americans want Congress to extend the Obamacare subsidies, including 59% of Republicans. The KFF <a href="https://www.kff.org/public-opinion/despite-budget-concerns-three-quarters-of-public-say-congress-should-extend-the-enhanced-aca-tax-credits-set-to-expire-next-year-including-most-republicans-and-maga-supporters/">poll</a> also found that ending the subsidies could be problematic for Republicans in next year&#8217;s midterm elections.
Republican leaders, who have opposed Obamacare for years, argue that the subsidies debate should be held closer to the end of the year, after the government has been funded. Republicans, led by President Donald Trump, are also seeking additional ways to reduce government spending. An analysis from the Congressional Budget Office and the Joint Committee on Taxation released last month estimated that a permanent extension of the Obamacare COVID subsidies would increase the federal deficit by $349.8 billion over the next decade, The Hill <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/house/5540430-mike-johnson-shutdown-obamacare-subsidies/">reported</a>.
Both House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) <a href="https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/5538167-congress-aca-tax-credit-increase/">said</a> that discussions over Obamacare subsidies cannot happen while the government remains shut down, urging their Democratic colleagues to focus on agreeing to a temporary funding bill before larger funding debates can be held.
“We have effectively three months to negotiate. In the White House and in the halls of Congress, that’s like an eternity,” Johnson <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/house/5540430-mike-johnson-shutdown-obamacare-subsidies/">said</a> on Monday.
Trump said on Monday that he&#8217;s open to negotiating with Democrats on the health care subsidies, but added that they must reopen the government before those negotiations take place.
&#8220;I am happy to work with the Democrats on their Failed Healthcare Policies, or anything else, but first they must allow our Government to re-open. In fact, they should open our Government tonight!&#8221; Trump <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/115329671584864920">wrote</a> on Truth Social on Monday evening.
The Senate <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/live-updates-countdown-to-government-shutdown?contentProgram=LIVE%20UPDATES%3A%20Another%20Failed%20Vote%3A%20Shutdown%20Continues&amp;contentType=Post&amp;elementPosition=2&amp;location=Home%20Tab&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Home%20Featured%20Carousel">failed</a> to pass a funding bill again on Monday night, with the vast majority of Democrats rejecting the Republicans&#8217; continuing resolution.

Most Americans Don’t Want COVID Programs To Continue As Dems Push For Extension In Shutdown Fight

COVID-19

Democrats

Poll

Republicans

If you watched CNN this week, you’ve probably seen clips of host Kaitlan Collins “fact-checking” Republican lawmakers on the government shutdown.
These exchanges follow the same pattern. The Republican says that Democrats shut the government down because they want to give free healthcare to illegal immigrants. Collins <a href="https://x.com/kaitlancollins/status/1973573706602652035" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tells them</a> that federal Medicaid funding can’t go to illegals. They start talking about Obamacare, and she says that illegal immigrants have <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2025/10/01/politics/video/kaitlan-collins-mike-johnson-fact-check-ldndigvid" target="_blank" rel="noopener">never been eligible</a> for Obamacare subsidies.
In all these clips, Collins seems confident while Republicans seem like they’re trying to talk their way out of the exchange. They’re making wild accusations, while she’s simply stating facts.
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I questioned Speaker Mike Johnson tonight on the claim being made by Republicans that Democrats want to give free health care to “illegal aliens” in the government shutdown fight. <a href="https://t.co/sjvnQwxTKN">pic.twitter.com/sjvnQwxTKN</a>
— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) <a href="https://twitter.com/kaitlancollins/status/1973210626853130329?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 1, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Here’s the problem: Collins is wrong.
Republicans seem like they’re talking in circles because this is an incredibly complex issue, and Democrats are trying to make it even more complicated. Collins, like Democrats and other members of the media, is talking about what the law says. Republicans are talking about what actually happens.
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It’s true that federal Medicaid dollars can’t go to illegals. And it’s true that illegals aren’t eligible for Obamacare subsidies. But it’s also true that federal Medicaid dollars do go to illegal immigrants, and illegal immigrants do enroll in taxpayer-subsidized Obamacare plans.
Facts are stubborn things. And the fact is that the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) imposed safeguards to stop illegal immigrants from improperly accessing federal healthcare benefits. The fact is, the Democrats’ funding bill would roll back those safeguards.
That’s the shutdown fight in a nutshell. But, if you want all the facts so you can really school your liberal buddy — or if you’re a Republican congressman who just booked an interview with Kaitlan Collins — here’s a crash course in the healthcare battle that has ground Washington to a halt.
<h3>Rolling Back The Big, Beautiful Bill</h3>
The Democrat funding proposal would simultaneously repeal a number of provisions of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that, taken together, would make it possible for illegal immigrants to get taxpayer-funded healthcare.
Democrats and the media are using this fact to their advantage. To the Chuck Schumers and Kaitlan Collinses of the world, because the Democrat funding bill, which House Republicans have named the <a href="https://appropriations.house.gov/news/press-releases/democrat-counterfeit-resolution-15-trillion-ransom-note-taxpayers">Counterfeit Resolution</a>, isn’t called “The Free Healthcare For Illegal Immigrants Act of 2025,” that must mean the bill wouldn’t let illegals get healthcare.
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This is a lie. Not a single federal dollar goes to providing health insurance for undocumented immigrants. NOT. ONE. PENNY.
Republicans would rather lie and shut down the government down than protect your health care. <a href="https://t.co/yfVsFUivMy">https://t.co/yfVsFUivMy</a>
— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) <a href="https://twitter.com/SenSchumer/status/1973174156725461480?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 30, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Of course, that’s not how policy works. That’s not how anything works, really.
The Heritage Foundation has a <a href="https://www.heritage.org/budget-and-spending/report/yes-senate-democrats-have-shut-down-the-government-over-giving-health" target="_blank" rel="noopener">good breakdown</a> of how section 2141 of the Democrat funding bill would roll back the OBBBA’s healthcare provisions. Most importantly, the bill would allow all “qualified aliens” to apply for Medicaid — as opposed to limiting eligibility to lawful permanent residents — and once again expand the federal match rate for state Medicaid programs.
Medicaid is funded jointly by states and the federal government. For every dollar a state pays, the federal government matches it with a payment of its own. The matching rate differs by state, and under the Biden administration, it was dramatically expanded.
This is what Kaitlan Collins was referring to when she told Rep. Mike Lawler (D-NY)  that there was a difference between “state and federal dollars” when it came to giving health benefits to illegal immigrants. Her point, it seems, was that while states can spend Medicaid money on illegals, the federal government is legally barred from doing so.
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GOP Rep. Mike Lawler says he opposes the Trump administration freezing roughly $18 billion for a pair of New York City infrastructure projects amid the government shutdown. <a href="https://t.co/QoHomfBiW7">pic.twitter.com/QoHomfBiW7</a>
— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) <a href="https://twitter.com/kaitlancollins/status/1973573706602652035?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 2, 2025</a></blockquote>
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But money is fungible — which means that, once those federal Medicaid dollars hit state bank accounts, it’s off to the races.
Just look at California, which has proudly expanded its Medicaid program to cover illegal aliens. Technically, it must cover illegal enrollees with state dollars. But California has devised a clever money laundering scheme wherein it taxes healthcare providers to fund its Medicaid program. The more it raises provider taxes, the more it gets from the federal government.
The result? Over <a href="https://paragoninstitute.org/medicaid/californias-insurance-tax-shuffle-how-federal-money-ends-up-paying-for-medicaid-for-illegal-immigrants/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">$5 billion</a> in healthcare for illegal aliens.
The OBBBA repealed an emergency 90% Medicaid match rate for illegal immigrants. Democrats’ funding bill would bring it back, putting taxpayers on the hook for the majority of costs of illegals enrolled in Medicaid — a population that would swell under the bill’s expansive “qualified alien” category. After that, nothing would stop states like New York and Massachusetts from following in California’s footsteps.
<h3>The Obamacare Free-For-All</h3>
Like with Medicaid, the OBBBA tightened eligibility requirements for noncitizens applying for Obamacare premium subsidies. Like with Medicaid, the Democrats’ funding bill would roll that back.
It gets worse.
During COVID, President Joe Biden signed legislation that expanded eligibility for Obamacare subsidies to those making up to 400% above the federal poverty level. That means these taxpayer-funded subsidies, meant to help the poorest Americans afford Obamacare plans, were available to people making <a href="http://kff.org/affordable-care-act/inflation-reduction-act-health-insurance-subsidies-what-is-their-impact-and-what-would-happen-if-they-expire/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">over $100,000 a year.</a> The legislation also <a href="https://paragoninstitute.org/private-health/ghostbusting-aca-fraud-millions-who-dont-use-their-health-insurance-expose-abuse-in-the-program/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">made Obamacare free</a> for people making between 100% and 150% of the federal poverty level.
Let’s set aside the fact that the federal government needs to spend billions of dollars paying for Americans to enroll in ostensibly &#8220;affordable&#8221; healthcare plans. Blowing open these doors has also led to a shocking surge in fraud.
According to the Paragon Health Institute, <a href="https://paragoninstitute.org/private-health/ghostbusting-aca-fraud-millions-who-dont-use-their-health-insurance-expose-abuse-in-the-program/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">6.4 million more people</a> qualified for free Obamacare than actually exist between 100% and 150% of the federal poverty level.
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📊 New Paragon resource: Obamacare Fraud, by the Numbers
The one-stop shop for data on improper enrollment, zero-claim enrollees, and billions in wasted subsidies.<a href="https://t.co/SbzEULJx3D">https://t.co/SbzEULJx3D</a> <a href="https://t.co/8DC5oGJjGB">pic.twitter.com/8DC5oGJjGB</a>
— Paragon Health Institute (@Paragon_Inst) <a href="https://twitter.com/Paragon_Inst/status/1973431605772558576?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 1, 2025</a></blockquote>
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So, more than 6 million people got free healthcare for which they were not eligible. All told, improper enrollees accounted for 26% of the Obamacare population in 2025. Bizarrely, 11.7 million people enrolled in Obamacare in 2024 never made a single claim — up from 3.4 million in 2021.
Democrats say this is a result of more young, healthy Americans enrolling in Obamacare plans but not needing to go to the doctor. Experts say it’s the result of widespread fraud.
Either way, it cost taxpayers more than $35 billion last year.
<h3>Healthcare For Illegals: It&#8217;s What&#8217;s Happening</h3>
If expanding Medicaid eligibility and federal matching didn’t help illegal immigrants get taxpayer-funded healthcare, this certainly will. Tightening eligibility requirements doesn’t just save money — it makes it easier for the government to prevent fraud. When pretty much everyone’s eligible for subsidies, preventing fraud is effectively impossible.
So, to recap: the next time someone tells you federal Medicaid dollars don’t go to illegals, remind them that money is fungible. And the next time someone tells you illegals aren’t allowed to enroll in federal health insurance programs, remind them that, last year, we spent $35 billion on health insurance for ghosts.

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Yes, Democrats Want To Give Illegals Free Healthcare. Here Are The Facts.

Kaitlan Collins

Medicaid

WASHINGTON—There is a Republican push for President Donald Trump&#8217;s administration to put an end to tax code provisions that make it more cost-effective for Americans to obtain transgender medical procedures and surgeries, The Daily Wire has learned.
The IRS currently designates so-called gender procedures as a &#8220;qualifying medical expense,&#8221; meaning patients can pay for these procedures with tax-advantaged Health Savings Accounts and subsidized Affordable Care Act insurance plans. In a letter first obtained by The Daily Wire, Missouri congressman Bob Onder is asking Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to take a look at changing what qualifies.
&#8220;Hardworking American taxpayers across the country are unknowingly made complicit in underwriting these costly, dangerous, and deadly medical procedures,&#8221; Onder writes, urging Bessent to &#8220;remove sex-trait altering drug regimens, procedures, and related providers from tax-advantaged qualified medical expenses.&#8221;
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&#8220;The tacit tolerance of a radical movement that has subjected thousands of American children to baseless medical treatments with grave consequences should be of serious concern to all of us,&#8221; Onder said. &#8220;We must ensure that this misguided acceptance does not result in Americans unknowingly and indirectly subsidizing the cost of these procedures.&#8221;
Bessent, who serves as acting commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service, is able to define which procedures as qualified medical expenses, the letter notes. Gender-affirming care is now broadly considered a qualified expense, meaning patients can pay for everything from chest binders and hormone therapy to surgeries using tax-advantaged HSA and FSA accounts, or taxpayer-subsidized Obamacare insurance plans.
The push to change this comes as the Trump administration redoubles its efforts to combat radical gender ideology in the wake of a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/calls-to-investigate-trans-domestic-terrorism-escalate-after-devastating-school-shooting">string of deadly attacks</a> perpetrated by transgender-identifying assailants. Last week, the president told The Daily Wire that his administration is &#8220;very strongly&#8221; examining the pattern of transgender violence, and White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt similarly told The Daily Wire that transgender violence is “definitely something worth looking into.&#8221;
&#8220;Anyone who denies that at this point is being willfully ignorant,&#8221; Leavitt said.
In his letter, Onder lays out five major mass shootings that have been &#8220;conducted by transgender individuals with proven political motivations&#8221; since 2018.
That would include <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/exclusive-attempted-kavanaugh-assassin-identifies-as-transgender-woman-legal-filings-show?author=Mary+Margaret+Olohan&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=11&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=EXCLUSIVE%3A+Attempted+Kavanaugh+Assassin+Identifies+As+Transgender+Woman%2C+Legal+Filings+Show">Robin Westman</a>, a trans-identifying 23-year-old man who opened fire last month on Catholic schoolchildren while they were praying in Minneapolis. It also follows the assassination of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, whose accused killer, 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, was living with a 22-year-old trans-identifying male named Lance Twiggs.
&#8220;As Congress and the Trump Administration consider advancing policy proposals aimed at addressing the underlying conditions that led to Mr. Kirk’s assassination, it would be a grave mistake not to acknowledge the role transgender ideology has played in inflicting harm on our nation’s children,&#8221; Onder wrote.
Onder further notes that advocates of transgender procedures are taking advantage of vulnerable young people, coaxing them into experimental medical procedures that often cause irreparable harm, and indoctrinating them into a radical ideology.
Citing a May <a href="https://opa.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/2025-05/gender-dysphoria-report.pdf">report</a> from the Department of Health and Human Services that found there is &#8220;minimal evidence to support the benefits of sex-trait altering procedures,&#8221; Onder argues that these procedures often lead to &#8220;severe health consequences&#8221; that &#8220;have sparked equally devastating societal consequences.&#8221;
&#8220;We are witnessing a disturbing rise in left-wing political violence with increasing rates of mental illness and political radicalization, which is incredibly concerning and warrants concerted examination,&#8221; he tells Bessent. &#8220;These &#8216;activists&#8217; are systematically exploiting the confusion of these vulnerable individuals, weaponizing their distress to target anyone they perceive as a political or ideological opponent.&#8221;
Onder is a member of the Republican Study Committee, the largest conservative caucus in Congress, which has led the charge against both <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/exclusive-riley-gaines-to-join-republican-study-committee-members-lunch">transgender ideology</a> and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/house-republicans-call-for-an-end-to-violent-rhetoric-on-the-anniversary-of-butler-shooting">political violence.</a> In 2022, then-RSC Chairman Jim Banks introduced <a href="https://rsc-pfluger.house.gov/news/press-releases/reps-banks-lamalfa-sen-cotton-introduce-protecting-minors-medical-malpractice">legislation</a> that would protect minors from transgender procedures. The RSC — which counts among its members prominent lawmakers, including Reps. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), Steve Scalise (R-LA), and Kat Cammack (R-FL) — has seen its efforts to fight gender ideology pay off under President Donald Trump.
Shortly after taking office in January, Trump signed an executive order declaring &#8220;federal funds shall not be used to promote gender ideology.&#8221; The Trump Justice Department is considering a ban on firearm purchases for individuals who identify as transgender, as The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-trump-doj-considering-gun-ban-for-transgenders?author=Mary+Margaret+Olohan&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=15&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Trump+DOJ+Deliberates+Over+Gun+Ban+For+Transgenders">previously reported.</a> And in June, the Supreme Court upheld Tennessee&#8217;s ban on transgender procedures for minors, a decision RSC Chairman August Pfulger (R-Texas) hailed as &#8220;a huge win for parental rights and defeating the woke ideology of the Left.&#8221;
Other RSC members are expected to sign on to Onder&#8217;s letter in the coming days, sources with knowledge of the matter tell The Daily Wire.
&#8220;Children are the most vulnerable members of our country, and they deserve leaders who will protect them,&#8221; Onder writes. &#8220;This action alone will make a marked impact on the well-being of children nationwide, and will end this country’s moral retreat into the acceptance of a radical ideology that defies biological reality and puts our citizens at risk.&#8221;

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As Transgender Violence Mounts, Republicans Push Trump To End Tax Advantage For Gender Procedures

Charlie Kirk

House Republicans

Leftism

Scott Bessent

Transgender

Violence

A <a href="https://paragoninstitute.org/private-health/the-greater-obamacare-enrollment-fraud/">new report</a> from an institute whose president coordinated the development of health policies during President Donald Trump&#8217;s first term says millions of people are fraudulently obtaining health insurance subsidized by the federal government.
The Paragon Health Institute is a think-tank whose president, Brian Blase, is determined to root out corruption in the federal healthcare plan. “We don’t just write white papers,” he <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/12/20/conservative-policy-shop-helping-shape-gop-priorities/">stated</a> last December. “We focus on trying to make change.”
“The Biden administration’s attempts to make it easier for people to sign up for insurance through the federal marketplace website also allowed insurance brokers to commit fraud, experts across the political spectrum agree,” The Washington Post <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/06/17/affordable-care-act-obamacare-fraud/">noted</a>, adding, “The report estimates that the income of more than a quarter of the 24 million marketplace enrollees this year was misrepresented, often by brokers, so that the plan would be fully subsidized.”
“We have found that this improper enrollment and fraud surged over the past year—rising by more than one-quarter to now total nearly 6.4 million ineligible recipients,” the report, titled, “The Greater Obamacare Enrollment Fraud: The Fraud Got Much Worse in 2025,” states. “The Biden administration took a host of administrative actions that prioritized higher enrollment numbers over eligibility verification, allowing fraud to grow unchecked.”
The report explains:
<blockquote>
Exchange enrollment fraud is driven by a combination of four factors: (1) the enhanced Obamacare subsidies, enacted as a temporary pandemic-era policy, which fully subsidize plans for people who report income between 100 and 150 percent of the FPL; (2) Biden administration policies that prioritized enrollment over eligibility verification and program integrity; (3) limits on how much the federal government can recover if insurers receive excess advance subsidies because of improper eligibility determinations; and (4) automatic re-enrollment, which perpetuates improper enrollments year after year.
&#8230; the perverse incentives of the system have attracted unscrupulous brokers. These brokers understand how to game Obamacare. They are driving fraudulent enrollments by exploiting the enhanced direct enrollment feature of HealthCare.gov, which allows third parties to enroll consumers without their direct interaction with the exchange.
</blockquote>
In <a href="https://paragoninstitute.org/private-health/the-great-obamacare-enrollment-fraud/">The Great Obamacare Enrollment Fraud</a>, the precursor to the current report, the institute made six recommendations to deal with the fraud it found:
<ol>
<li>Congress should permit the enhanced subsidies to expire after 2025.</li>
<li>Congress should raise subsidy recapture limits to reduce incentives for people to misestimate their income.</li>
<li>Congress or the next administration should limit automatic re-enrollment into exchange plans and end it for people moving from or into fully taxpayer-subsidized plans.</li>
<li>Congress should appropriate cost-sharing reduction payments and prohibit silver-loading.</li>
<li>Congress should conduct aggressive oversight of the Biden administration’s management of HealthCare.gov, enhanced direct enrollment, and insurer and broker actions to take advantage of misestimating income.</li>
<li>Congress or the next administration should reverse policies of the Biden administration that enabled such widespread fraudulent enrollment, particularly the continuous open-enrollment period for people who report income below 150 percent of the Federal Poverty Level.</li>
</ol>
The current report staunchly supports President Trump’s budget bill, stating, “If the provisions of The One Big Beautiful Bill become law, five of Paragon’s six recommendations from The Great Obamacare Enrollment Fraud would be implemented. &#8230; The remaining reform, and the most important, is for Congress to permit the enhanced subsidies to expire after 2025.”

Person Holding and Counting US Dollar Bills

Millions Of Americans Illegally Getting Subsidized Obamacare: Report

Budget Bill

Fraud

The website in California where consumers can shop for and enroll in health insurance plans that comply with Obamacare sent users’ personal health information to LinkedIn.
Covered California, the state-run marketplace for Obamacare (the Affordable Care Act), had a website on which consumers were asked about whether they were blind, pregnant, or used a high number of prescription medications, CalMatters <a href="https://calmatters.org/health/2025/04/covered-california-linkedin-tracker/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>, adding, “Kelly Donohue, a spokesperson for the agency, confirmed that data was sent to LinkedIn as part of an advertising campaign. &#8230; Visitors who filled out health information on the site may have had their data tracked for more than a year, according to Donohue.”
Covered California sending data to a company such as LinkedIn is “concerning and invasive,” Sara Geoghegan, senior counsel at the Electronic Privacy Information Center, said, calling it  “wholly irrelevant” for LinkedIn to have the information. “People don’t expect that their health information will be collected and used in this way,” she added.
“LinkedIn is already facing multiple proposed class-action lawsuits related to the collection of medical information,” CalMatters noted. “In October, <a href="https://www.bankinfosecurity.com/lawsuits-accuse-linkedin-tracking-users-health-info-a-26668" target="_blank" rel="noopener">three new lawsuits in California courts alleged</a> that LinkedIn violated users’ privacy by collecting information on medical appointment sites, including for a fertility clinic.”
Rep. Kevin Kiley (R-CA), a former candidate for governor, wrote on X, “This is incredibly disturbing. California&#8217;s Obamacare website tracked users&#8217; personal health information – such as pregnancy and prescription drug use – and sent it to LinkedIn for a &#8216;marketing campaign.&#8217; We are asking Secretary Kennedy to investigate for HIPAA violations.”
“Covered California has identified that some sensitive data was inadvertently collected by the tags, including first names, the last four digits of Social Security numbers, and other sensitive health information like pregnancy status. To our knowledge, access to this data was limited to Covered California credentialed users for the limited purpose of managing Covered California’s account,” the agency <a href="https://www.coveredca.com/newsroom/news-releases/2025/04/28/statement-on-data-and-information-sharing/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">acknowledged</a>.
“Covered California is now the largest state-based health insurance marketplace in the country,” the organization boasts on its <a href="https://www.coveredca.com/marketing-blog/what-is-covered-california/">website</a>. “Over the last decade, we’ve helped reduce the percentage of uninsured adults under the age of 65 from 19.4 percent to just 7.5 percent — well below the national average.”

Open Enrollment Insurance ObamaCare Patient Protection, Affordable Care Act Guide

California Obamacare Marketplace Sent Users’ Personal Info To LinkedIn

LinkedIn

Privacy

A federal judge in North Dakota on Monday stopped the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/biden-administration" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Biden administration</a> from implementing a new policy that would make certain illegal immigrants eligible for government-backed health care coverage.
U.S. District Judge Daniel Traynor <a href="https://www.bloomberglaw.com/public/desktop/document/KansasStateofetalvUnitedStatesofAmericaetalDocketNo124cv00150DNDA/1?doc_id=X341THOR6K38NURUPN1CEL94VDR" target="_blank" rel="noopener">granted</a> a request to block a new policy from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) that would allow individuals given Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) status to enroll in Obamacare. Traynor said that Kansas and the 18 Republican attorney generals who sued the Biden administration were likely to succeed and gave them a stay against the policy. 
Traynor said that CMS broke the law earlier this year when it <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/slap-in-the-face-biden-blasted-after-giving-certain-illegal-immigrants-access-to-gov-health-care" target="_blank" rel="noopener">changed</a> the definition of people “lawfully present” in the United States to include DACA recipients. Those with DACA status crossed illegally into America as minors with their parents and were shielded from deportation via an executive order from President Barack Obama. 
“The authority granted to CMS by the ACA [Affordable Care Act] is to ascertain whether an individual meets the requirements for lawful status. It by no means allows the agency to circumvent congressional authority and redefine the term ‘lawfully present,’” Traynor wrote. 
“As it currently stands, the ACA does not allow federal healthcare subsidies or coverage for aliens who are unlawfully present in the United States,” he added. 
Traynor also agreed with the Republican attorneys general that the policy would encourage illegal aliens to remain in their states with the draw of health care. 
The decision was praised by Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach, who led the suit against the policy. 
&#8220;Big win for the rule of law. Congress never intended that illegal aliens should receive Obama care benefits,” he said. “Indeed, two laws prohibit them from receiving such benefits. The Biden administration tried to break those laws. But we fought back, and defeated the Justice Department.&#8221;
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The other states that were part of the suit included Ohio, Idaho,  Nebraska,  South  Carolina, Alabama, Virginia, Tennessee, Indiana, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, New Hampshire, Kentucky, Texas, Florida, and Arkansas. They argued that the rule from the Biden administration was arbitrary and capricious, and would incentivize illegal immigration. 
In response to the ruling, CMS <a href="https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/5031527-federal-court-blocks-aca-coverage-for-dreamers/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> that it was reviewing the decision but could not comment further. 
The rule change was opposed by President-elect Donald Trump, with campaign spokesperson Karoline Leavitt decrying it in May as &#8220;unfair and unsustainable.&#8221; 
“Joe Biden‘s handouts for illegal immigrants are especially devastating to Black Americans, Hispanic Americans, and union workers who are forced to watch their jobs and public resources stolen by people who illegally entered our country,” Leavitt, Trump&#8217;s incoming press secretary, said at the time.
Last month, another judge struck down a parole program from the Biden administration that would have granted legal status to hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants.

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