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.

Chuck Schumer

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

Congress

COVID-19

Democrats

Donald Trump

Government Shutdown

Health Care

Obamacare

Politics

Poll

Republicans

Washington D.C.

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.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
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.

Illegal Immigation

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

California

Health

Health Insurance

LinkedIn

Privacy

U.S.

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.

President Biden Delivers Remarks On Situation In Syria

Judge Blocks Biden Admin From Giving DACA Recipients Obamacare

Biden Administration

Courts

Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)

Illegal Immigration

Kansas

House Speaker <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/mike-johnson" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mike Johnson</a> said “massive” reforms to the Affordable Care Act (ACA), known as Obamacare, would be a Republican priority if former president Donald Trump wins the White House.
Johnson made the remark while speaking in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, at a campaign event for GOP House candidate Ryan Mackenzie, according to <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/speaker-johnson-criticizes-obamacare-promises-massive-reform-trump-win-rcna177853" target="_blank" rel="noopener">NBC News</a>. Trump has campaigned on reforming Obamacare in a second Trump term, calling it a “lousy” program.
“Health care reform’s going to be a big part of the agenda. When I say we’re going to have a very aggressive first 100 days agenda, we got a lot of things still on the table,” Johnson said.
When one attendee questioned, “No Obamacare?” Johnson responded: “No Obamacare.”
“The ACA is so deeply ingrained, we need massive reform to make this work, and we got a lot of ideas on how to do that,” the Louisiana Republican added.
Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign attacked the speaker over the comments, accusing him of attempting to repeal the Obama-era healthcare law.
“Health care is on the ballot this November. Speaker Mike Johnson is making it clear – if Donald Trump wins, he and his Project 2025 allies in Congress will make sure there is ‘no Obamacare,’” a campaign spokeswoman said in a statement.
<a href="https://www.amiracist.com/?_gl=1*jtghwp*_gcl_au*ODQ1NjYzNTg2LjE3Mjg5MDk3OTE.*_ga*MTc2NzM0NDQ2NS4xNzI4OTA5Nzkx*_ga_CZKR9ZYKJP*MTczMDEyMDgwOS40OS4xLjE3MzAxMjA4MzkuMzAuMC4w" target="_blank" rel="noopener">MATT WALSH’S ‘AM I RACIST?’ NOW STREAMING ON DAILYWIRE+</a>
Johnson pushed back, telling <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/house/4962432-johnson-republicans-obamacare-harris/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Hill</a>: “Despite the dishonest characterizations from the Harris campaign, the audio and transcript make clear that I offered no such promise to end ObamaCare, and in fact acknowledged that the policy is ‘deeply ingrained’ in our health care system.”
“Still, House Republicans will always seek to reduce the costs and improve the quality and availability of health care for all Americans. Anyone who has been a patient or known a loved one who has struggled with health issues understands why this is so important,” he added.
Trump attempted to repeal and replace Obamacare during his first term. The push <a href="https://www.politico.com/story/2017/07/28/how-mccain-upended-obamacare-repeal-241070" target="_blank" rel="noopener">fizzled</a> when a trio of Republican senators – Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Susan Collins of Maine, and the late John McCain of Arizona – voted with Democrats to kill the legislation.
Trump used executive orders and riders on other legislation to make piecemeal reforms to the healthcare law, one of the most impactful being the repeal of the individual mandate. A tax bill passed in 2017 <a href="https://money.cnn.com/2017/12/15/news/economy/obamacare-individual-mandate-tax/index.html?iid=EL" target="_blank" rel="noopener">scrapped</a> penalties set to take effect in 2019 for people who refused to sign up for the ACA exchanges or pay for private health insurance.

Mike Johnson

Mike Johnson: Reforming Obamacare ‘A Big Part Of The Agenda’ If Trump Wins White House

Economy

Pennsylvania

President <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/joe-biden" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Joe Biden</a> announced on Friday that he would make certain illegal immigrants eligible for government-backed health care coverage, prompting criticism from Republicans who said it was a “slap in the face” to American citizens. 
Biden said that illegal immigrants in the United States who had received Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) status because they had been taken into the country with their parents, would be able to now enroll in Obamacare. In a statement, Biden said that the illegal immigrants might be eligible for financial assistance to give them coverage. 
“While President Biden continues to call on Congress to provide a pathway to citizenship to Dreamers and others, he is committed to protecting and preserving DACA and providing Dreamers with the opportunities and support they need to succeed, including access to affordable, quality health care coverage,” Biden <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2024/05/03/fact-sheet-biden-harris-administration-expands-health-coverage-to-daca-recipients/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. 
The decision was made possible by a Biden admin rule changing the definition of “lawfully present” to include DACA recipients for Obamacare and will go into effect just before the presidential election as DACA recipients will be able to register for coverage on November 1. 
“Thanks to the Biden-Harris Administration’s actions, today’s final rule will remove the prohibition on DACA recipients’ eligibility for Affordable Care Act coverage for the first time, and is projected to help more than 100,000 young people gain health insurance,” the president added. 
The decision prompted harsh criticism from conservatives, including former President Donald Trump. 
“This is unfair and unsustainable,” Trump campaign spokesperson Karoline Leavitt <a href="https://twitter.com/_StephanieMyers/status/1786442978032267429" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. “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.”
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“President Trump will put America and the American worker first. He will seal the border, stop the invasion, and expand economic opportunity for American citizens, not illegal aliens,” Leavitt added. 
Last summer, Republicans in both the House and Senate <a href="https://tiffany.house.gov/media/editorials-letters-and-articles/gop-lawmakers-urge-biden-admin-not-fund-healthcare-illegal" target="_blank" rel="noopener">urged</a> Biden to not finalize the rule.
On Friday, Senator J.D. Vance (R-OH) said that Biden should be focusing on getting the border under control and reducing inflation instead of giving benefits to illegal immigrants. 
“There’s an unprecedented crisis at our southern border, we&#8217;ve got major conflicts around the world, and families all across Ohio are getting crushed by inflation,&#8221; he said. &#8220;Joe Biden&#8217;s response to all this is to give your hard-earned money away to illegal immigrants in the form of taxpayer-funded healthcare. This is a slap in the face to every hardworking American who plays by the rules, and it would never happen if Donald Trump were president.”

Democratic Presidential Candidate Joe Biden Speaks On His “Build Back Better” Clean Energy Economic Plan

‘Slap In The Face’: Biden Blasted After Giving Certain Illegal Immigrants Access To Gov Health Care

JD Vance

Joe Biden

There is a big lie that we in the United States keep telling ourselves. It is particularly true on the political Right, but it&#8217;s true across the board.
Here’s the lie: We want our government to be fiscally responsible in some way, shape, or form. It&#8217;s clearly a lie because we keep electing politicians who eschew being fiscally responsible in any way, shape, or form, regardless of who runs the government.
The spending keeps going in one direction — and that direction is up. There&#8217;s a reason we are running a $34 trillion national debt at this point in time, and it is likely that that more debt is going to continue to accrue because nobody takes this problem particularly seriously.
And they&#8217;re not going to take that problem seriously until we run smack into a wall.
That is typically how fiscal crises work: A country spends too much money. They&#8217;re unable to rein it back in because there are too many people who become dependent on that spending of the money. Then, instead of creating some sort of plan to get out of debt, people just keep running up those debts, keep running up those deficits until the time comes we have to take extremely harsh remediating action.
<h4><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/ep-1888-the-big-lie-americans-tell-ourselves-member-exclusive" target="_blank" rel="noopener">WATCH: The Ben Shapiro Show</a></h4>
That is the high likelihood here. Why do I say this? Because yesterday the House Republicans, as well as the House Democrats, overwhelmingly passed yet another continuing resolution. And this is the way we now fund the government because we&#8217;re not able to actually have serious negotiations on any department level with regard to spending; we&#8217;re not able to negotiate over how much should be spent on defense or how much should be spent on education.
Instead, we wrap everything up into a ball and when we can&#8217;t get approval on a year-long budget, we go to continuing resolutions, which are the short-form budgets that continue the government spending. And we keep the drain running and the trend will run until the train runs completely off those tracks.
And by the way, the people who are telling you that the continuing resolution should have been pushed aside in favor of something harsher, in favor of a government shutdown, or in favor of a harder bargaining position with Joe Biden, are fibbing to you about the incentive structure. Unless you have a unified Republican control of the House, the Senate, and the presidency, you&#8217;re not going to get the kind of spending cuts that make it worthwhile for you to risk your seats. Because I&#8217;ll tell you what happens: You do a government shutdown, you&#8217;re going to end up passing a continuing resolution anyway, and a bunch more people are going to lose their seats.
The easiest thing in Congress is to get lost in a crowd, to simply side with an overwhelming majority of people who say status quo, “Let&#8217;s just keep doing what it is that we are doing right now.”  Internal Republican rules prevent any Republican from moving forward with a bill that does not have at least the support of the majority of Republicans. So it came very close to the wire on this particular bill.
Texas Republican Chip Roy, who does take the problem of spending seriously, was blasting everybody Right, Left, and Center about not only the spending, but also the fact that nobody in Congress seems to want to solve serious problems anymore. He wound up saying, “It doesn&#8217;t matter who&#8217;s sitting in the Speaker&#8217;s seat or who has the majority. We keep doing the same stupid stuff.”
That requires us to ask a pretty simple question: Why is it that we keep doing the same stupid stuff? Is that a matter of not having the right people in power? Or is it just that the American people refuse to recognize the reality about themselves, which is that we constantly say that we want to balance the budget; we constantly say we want to spend less money, and then as soon as there is a poll asking what we would like to cut, we all run for the hills and we have no idea what it is that we would like to cut.
The reality is, in order for any serious major change to get done, you must have unified party control over Congress, over the Senate, over the presidency, and a dedication by that party to take the hit. 
Democrats take the hits, by the way. There&#8217;s something the Democrats are good at.
Democrats took the hit in 2010. They passed Obamacare and then they got shellacked at the polls. It was an exceptionally bad midterm for them. And they jumped ahead because they knew if they could completely restructure the health care system, in the end, these would become entitlements people relied upon. They would rather take the short-term hit for the long-term gain.
When was the last time Republicans took a short-term hit for the long-term gain? The answer is they haven’t. The reason they don&#8217;t is because they&#8217;re afraid they will be tossed out of office. So it’s up to the American people to tell Washington that we actually want the spending cuts. 
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Politicians make a living by lying to you and you have a choice: Your choice is whether you like being lied to. You decide to go along with their lies or whether you don&#8217;t like being lied to. Any politician who says he can save you, save your family, or save your society by spending money here or by restructuring a program there is lying to you. 
The vast majority of choices in your life are up to you. When people rely on politicians too much, they end up shooting themselves in the foot. 
Then they buy into the next grifter who comes along and suggests he&#8217;s going to fix whatever problems are at hand.

Congress Approves Funding To Avert US Government Shutdown

The Big Lie Americans Tell Ourselves 

Ben Shapiro

Budget

Chip Roy

National Debt

Readers Pass

U.S. House of Representatives

President <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/biden-administration" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Joe Biden</a> announced that <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/health-insurance" target="_blank" rel="noopener">health insurance</a> signups via HealthCare.Gov surged to a new record this year.
Created by the Affordable Care Act, a signature Obama administration legislative package often referred to as <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/obamacare" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ObamaCare</a>, the website facilitated more than 11.5 million Americans seeking insurance between November 1 and December 15, marking an 18% increase since the same period last year. Enrollment for the website, which serves as a private health insurance marketplace and offers subsidies for Americans who earn between one and four times the federal poverty line, remains open.
“I promised to lower costs for families and ensure that all Americans have access to quality affordable health care,” Biden remarked in a <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/12/27/statement-from-president-joe-biden-on-record-2022-healthcare-gov-enrollment/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a> from the White House. “In recent days, we received further proof that our efforts are delivering record results and bringing families the peace of mind that comes with health insurance.”
Biden added that four in five Americans who obtain health insurance through the Affordable Care Act can expect to pay less than $10 per month; the Inflation Reduction Act extended benefits that were slated to expire by the end of the year.
The number of non-elderly Americans who did not have health insurance amounted to 27.5 million last year, according to an <a href="https://www.kff.org/uninsured/issue-brief/key-facts-about-the-uninsured-population/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">analysis</a> from the Kaiser Family Foundation.
Biden added that his administration is “working to make health care a right, not a privilege.” While many leftists believe that health coverage is one of many positive rights, under which others are obligated to take an action on behalf of another individual, many conservatives contend that no such right exists and favor a negative rights framework, under which the government or other individuals cannot infringe upon specific liberties.
The report from the White House comes as <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/medicaid-enrollment-to-hit-100-million-include-nearly-one-third-of-americans" target="_blank" rel="noopener">enrollment</a> for Medicaid, which provides health care to low-income families, approaches 100 million people, or nearly one-third of the population, according to an analysis from the Foundation for Government Accountability.
“Our research and data show as welfare enrollment increases, workforce participation decreases,” Foundation for Government Accountability Data and Analytics Director Hayden Dublois remarked in a <a href="https://thefga.org/press/fga-launches-countdown-clock-to-100-million-on-medicaid/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">press release</a>. “We’re in the midst of a nationwide workforce crisis, yet the Biden administration is pushing policies to entice people into government dependency at record levels while limiting opportunities to achieve the American Dream.”
National healthcare expenditures were equivalent to approximately 18% of economic output last year, according to a <a href="https://www.cms.gov/research-statistics-data-and-systems/statistics-trends-and-reports/nationalhealthexpenddata/nhe-fact-sheet#:~:text=NHE%20grew%202.7%25%20to%20%244.3,17%20percent%20of%20total%20NHE." target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, while the two programs respectively cost $901 billion and $734 billion.
A recent <a href="https://committeetounleashprosperity.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Paying-Americans-Not-to-Work.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">study</a> from the Committee to Unleash Prosperity likewise found that unemployment insurance and the “dramatic recent expansion of ObamaCare subsidies” can <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/some-families-with-no-one-working-can-receive-up-to-six-figures-of-welfare-in-three-states" target="_blank" rel="noopener">exceed</a> the national median income in 24 states for families with two parents and two children, even with the end of supplemental programs originally passed during the lockdown-induced recession. Such families in Washington can receive more than $122,000, while families in Massachusetts and New Jersey can reap more than $117,000 and $108,000 in annualized benefits respectively.
“The federal government and the states offer a wide array of more than two dozen programs that provide cash assistance or in-kind benefits to low-income families. These ‘safety net programs’ are designed to keep families out of poverty,” the authors wrote. “But the expansion of assistance, especially in subsidized health insurance to families with children and no parents working, can mean that families can earn as much or more income from receiving government assistance than the median household does from working.”

Joe Biden, Barack Obama

ObamaCare Website Signups Soar To New Record Under Biden

ObamaCare Website Signups Up Under Biden

Executive

A federal judge in Texas ruled against the Biden administration&#8217;s extension of the Affordable Care Act&#8217;s discrimination provisions to include gay and trans-identified people.
U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk filed a <a href="https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/legaldocs/zjvqjkqyopx/11112022health_biden.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">26-page decision</a> on Friday, finding that the Supreme Court’s 2020 decision in Bostock v. Clayton County, which bars workplace discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and &#8220;gender identity,&#8221; does not apply to the 2010 health care law.
&#8220;Title IX&#8217;s ordinary public meaning remains intact until changed by Congress, or perhaps the Supreme Court,&#8221; said Kacsmaryk.
The ruling by Kacsmaryk came in a class action lawsuit by two doctors represented by the America First Legal Foundation, alleging HHS misinterpreted Bostock. They sued after the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said in May 2021 it would interpret Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act, which prohibits healthcare providers from discriminating on the basis of sex, as extending to sexual orientation and gender identity.
Kacsmaryk said the Supreme Court&#8217;s 6-3 finding that Title VII&#8217;s prohibition against sex discrimination included gay and trans-identified workers did not warrant the same conclusion under Title IX&#8217;s text.
When Congress adopted the Affordable Care Act in 2010 during former President Barack Obama&#8217;s tenure, they could have included “sexual orientation” or “gender identity” in the text, but “chose not to do so,” said Kacsmaryk.
​&#8221;Congress limited Section 1557’s protections to those afforded by other federal statutes – including Title IX. Because Title IX does not protect ‘sexual orientation’ or ‘gender identity’ status, neither does Section 1557,&#8221; Kacsmaryk wrote. ​
Kacsmaryk has ordered both parties to submit “proposed judgments” within 10 days of his order.
Upon entering office, President Joe Biden signed a sweeping executive order, “Preventing and Combating Discrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity or Sexual Orientation,” which attempted to reinterpret the prohibition on discrimination based on sex — which is found in Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 — to include discrimination based on sexual orientation and one’s &#8220;gender identity.&#8221;
&#8220;The <a href="https://womansplaceuk.org/2021/02/07/bidens-executive-order/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">problems</a> with this [Executive Order] arise with its misinterpretation of Bostock and the disregard of biological sex and the sex-based rights of women and girls.&#8221; said <a href="https://callieburt.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Dr. Callie Burt</a>, an Associate Professor at Georgia State University in the Department of CJ and Criminology and Center for Research on Interpersonal Violence (CRIV). &#8220;The Biden administration appears to subscribe to a worldview where gender identity should take precedence over sex.&#8221;
&#8220;This interpretation would have significant ramifications for women and girls in education, females incarcerated in federal prisons and detention centres, and the like,&#8221; said Burt. &#8220;This would represent the ‘undoing’ of women’s sex-based rights in favour of gender self-ID.&#8221;

Judge holding gavel, close-up

Texas Judge Blocks Biden’s Interpretation Of Title IX

Texas Judge Blocks Biden’s Title IX Inclusion Of Gender Pseudoscience

Biden Admin

Judge

Texas

Title IX

A federal judge in <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/texas" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Texas</a> struck down a provision in the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/obamacare" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Affordable Care Act</a> that requires employers and insurers to cover <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/hiv" target="_blank" rel="noopener">HIV</a> prevention drugs, ruling that the requirement opposes the religious freedom of some Christian-led companies.
Judge Reed O&#8217;Connor&#8217;s ruling on Wednesday could have far-reaching consequences for the act popularly known as Obamacare.
“Braidwood has shown that the PrEP mandate substantially burdens its religious exercise,” he <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/22276105-braidwood-v-hhs-opinion" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote</a>. &#8220;The burden thus shifts to Defendants to show that the PrEP mandate furthers a compelling governmental interest and is the least restrictive means of furthering that interest. Defendants have not carried that burden.&#8221;
The case, Braidwood Management Inc. et al. v. Becerra, included six individuals and two businesses that challenged the preventive care mandates under the Constitution and Religious Freedom Restoration Act.
The Religious Freedom Restoration Act prohibits any government agency from substantially burdening an individual’s religious practice. The plaintiffs argued that the coverage of the drug opposed their religious convictions as they did not desire to encourage same-sex behavior.
The drug targeted in the lawsuit is preexposure prophylaxis, popularly called PrEP. The drug was recommended by the Department of Health and Human Services in 2019 to help prevent HIV infection for those at high risk, forcing health insurance plans to cover it.
The drug reportedly reduces the risk of contracting HIV from sex by roughly 99% and from drug injection by about 74%. The drug is taken primarily by men who have sex with men, but also by heterosexual individuals who may be at high risk for the disease, <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/hiv/basics/prep.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to</a> the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Survivors of sexual assaults are also sometimes prescribed PEP (postexposure prophylaxis).
O’Connor also stated in the ruling that the task force’s system for deciding which services should be fully covered under the Affordable Care Act was unconstitutional. The ruling opposed some additional preventive services covered under the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, including colorectal and other cancer screenings, depression screenings, and hypertension screenings.
Carl Schmid, executive director of the HIV+Hepatitis Policy Institute, told Roll Call that he expects the case will be appealed.
“Preventive services covered by private insurance plans without cost-sharing, such as HIV testing, hepatitis B and C testing, and PrEP, are all critical and well-established public health preventive services that must continue,” he said in a <a href="https://rollcall.com/2022/09/07/federal-judge-rules-hiv-drug-mandate-violates-religious-freedom/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a>. “To single out PrEP, which are FDA approved drugs that effectively prevent HIV, and conclude that its coverage violates the religious freedom of certain individuals, is plain wrong.”
The ruling follows a 7-2 Supreme Court ruling in June 2021 to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/supreme-court-rejects-republican-ags-challenge-to-obamacare-over-lack-of-standing-to-sue" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reject</a> a challenge to the Affordable Care Act from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and 17 other Republican attorneys general.
The attorneys general argued against the constitutionality of the law’s individual mandate, its prohibition on lifetime benefit caps, and its guarantee of protection for individuals with pre-existing conditions.

HIV prevention drug

Federal Judge Rules Against Obamacare Coverage Of HIV Prevention Drugs

Freedom of Religion

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