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Columbus, Ohio- Four weeks have passed since all Republican Members of Congress from Ohio chose to shut down the federal government to avoid lowering the cost of healthcare. Now, life is about to get even more difficult for Ohio’s working families as 1.4 million Ohioans brace for a month without receiving the food assistance they need to feed their families.

While members of Ohio’s Republican delegation are on the verge of allowing their constituents to go hungry, Democrats are stepping up. Last week, all Ohio congressional Democrats signed on to a letter urging the Department of Agriculture to use contingency funds to ensure no one goes hungry. Statehouse Democrats are introducing legislation to allow Ohio to use the state’s rainy day fund to fill funding gaps.

See below for more information on how many Ohioans won’t be able to put food on the table due to the Republican shutdown and click here for information on all 88 counties:

• Cuyahoga County: 190,000 
• Franklin County: 180,000
• Montgomery County: 150,000
• Hamilton County: 97,000 
• Lucas County: 72,000
• Statewide: 1.4 million

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Columbus, Ohio- There’s less than a week to go until the next deadline in Ohio’s congressional redistricting process, and Republicans still haven’t unveiled a proposed map. After already missing one deadline, Republicans are refusing to hold hearings on a proposed democratic map and are delaying the process to pass their extreme map with as little public input as possible.

Here’s what Ohioans are reading about the disrespect Republicans are showing towards Ohio voters:

Akron Beacon Journal: The missing congressional map shows politicians’ disrespect for Ohio voters | Opinion, The Rev. Raymond Greene Jr.

• I didn’t realize deadlines were optional in Columbus. But apparently, they are, at least for the Republican lawmakers running our Statehouse.

• Instead of doing their job and producing a fair congressional map by Sept. 30, they let the deadline pass without even presenting a single proposal. Not one. What we got instead were excuses that are empty, dishonest, and insulting to the people of Ohio.

• What we’re witnessing is a calculated delay, an attempt to run out the clock so the legislature can take back control and push through a map that silences millions of voices.

• And let’s not pretend this isn’t intentional. This is part of a larger national strategy, led by those who want to lock in power by dividing communities and diluting Black and Brown voting strength. 

• This is about control, not democracy. It’s about power, not people.

• The will of the people is not confusing. It’s clear. Fair maps. Fair elections. Nothing less is acceptable.

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WEWS: “Roughly 56,000 people in Cuyahoga County alone [get] health insurance through the exchange—insurance that the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation estimates will go up 237%”

Columbus, Ohio — An estimated 583,000 Ohioans are bracing for record premium hikes as the November 1 ACA open enrollment deadline looms and ACA tax credits are set to expire. 

Senator Husted has repeatedly voted to shut down the government rather than protect affordable health care for Ohioans. 

See for yourself: 

WEWS: “Jaw Hit the Floor,” Health Care Costs Set to Spike by 237% Across Ohio

• John Kosich: Anne Griffith of University Heights retired earlier this year to care for an aging parent—one of the tens of thousands of Northeast Ohioans who get their health insurance through the Affordable Care Act Marketplace. Her rates have been manageable at just over $200 a month. Because of the elimination of an enhanced premium tax credit in this summer’s Republican tax bill, she estimates her out-of-pocket could jump to nearly $1,200 a month.

• John Kosich: What was your reaction when you saw the difference that this would mean? 

• Anne Griffith, Ohio Voter: Jaw hit the floor. Going up to pay almost $1,200 a month is going to be very, very difficult.

• John Kosich: Aimee is right there with her. Self-employed, she’s relied on the marketplace for her insurance for a decade now.

• John Kosich: Have you seen what your increases will be yet?

• Aimee Lee, Ohio Voter: I have not. I have been so scared—that’s the stress. Ever since the bill came down, I just don’t know. It’s going to be bad. That’s all I know.

• John Kosich: They are two of the roughly 56,000 people in Cuyahoga County alone getting health insurance through the exchange—insurance that the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation estimates will go up 237 percent. The tax credit they currently receive is at the center of the debate in this government shutdown. With Democrats wanting the credit restored as part of winning their vote to re-open the government.

WOIO: Thousands Across Ohio Could Lose Health Care

• Brian Duffy: Well, we know health care is a necessity — and there’s a real good chance it could cost you more next year. Some of you may be paying double what you are right now.

• Nichole Vrsansky: So can anything be done? Noelle Williams spoke with state lawmakers about what they’re trying to do to help you.

• Aimee Lee, Ohio Voter: “Disastrous, expensive, and malicious, wants to block my rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness — I’m infuriated.”

• Noelle Williams: Aimee Lee cries at the thought of losing her health care. The Beefed-up premium subsidies are set to expire at the end of this year. I spoke with the Lyndhurst woman moments after lawmakers demanded to keep the current Affordable Care Act and Medicaid in place. Lee tells me she is one of more than 40,000 people across Northeast Ohio who may not be able to afford or possibly lose their insurance.

• Dr. Arthur Lavin, Ohio Voter: If you can’t pay for health care and you have diabetes, you will not get insulin. That means you could go into coma. That means you could die.

WCPO: Health Insurance Heading Up For Millions

• Kristen Skovira: Well, health care costs expected to surge next year for thousands in the Tri-State as Obamacare tax credits expire and then health insurers raise some of their rates. Health care advocates say even if you have a good plan through your employer, you might be hit with the biggest increase in 15 years. Experts say companies are asking their workers to pay as much as 6 to 7% more next year, plus additional payments with each doctor’s visit.

• Health Care Expert: About 60% of employers are planning not only to increase payroll contributions, but also increasing cost sharing — so that could be copays, deductibles, coinsurances, or out of pocket maximums.

• Kristen Skovira: Meantime, 80% of families on Obamacare are expected to see premiums increase starting in January, with lower-income families seeing the biggest percentage increases. 

WVXU: Analysis: Thousands of Tri-State families could face sticker shock in ACA impasse

• Millions of Americans who buy health insurance through the Affordable Care Act (ACA) exchange — including many in Ohio […] — are living on pins and needles as this federal government shutdown grinds on with no end in sight.

• These are individuals and families who depend on ACA tax subsidies to be able to afford health care coverage, and who will lose that help at the end of this year if Congress does not end the stalemate soon.

• A recent national poll conducted for KFF (formerly the Kaiser Family Foundation) showed 78% of Americans support extending ACA subsides. And that support is across the political spectrum — Democrats (92%), independents (82%), and Republicans (59%). Even a majority of those who identify as MAGA supporters (57%) favor keeping the ACA subsidies.

• The people taking advantage of the ACA system are people like real estate brokers, farmers, barbers — anyone who is self-employed. There are many people, too, who retire at the age of 60, lose their employer’s insurance, and have to cover the gap until they are 65 and can qualify for Medicare.

• Now, the people who use ACA subsidies to pay for health care are already getting letters in the mail warning them the subsidies may be going away soon.

• What’s more, people getting ACA subsidies may soon be in for a “double whammy” that will affect all Ohioans with health insurance, according to a leading health care policy analyst.

• Brian O’Rourke, policy analyst for the Health Policy Institute of Ohio, said insurance companies operating in Ohio already are proposing plans to state regulators that have the highest rate increases since 2017.

• “The fear is that higher premiums and no ACA subsidies will just drive many people out of the system altogether,’’ O’Rourke said.

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Columbus, Ohio- When pressed on his sudden silence on releasing the Epstein files after being a vocal proponent of doing so, Ramaswamy said he was more focused on “state issues.” Let’s take a look at what kind of state issues he’s been talking about over the past few months.

In Virginia, Ramaswamy campaigned with gubernatorial candidate Winsome Earle Sears before heading over to New Jersey to campaign with gubernatorial candidate Jack Ciattarelli. He even spoke at an event in Montana. Now, he’s out of the state again instead of focusing on the “state issues” he claims to care so much about. While Ohioans are looking for answers, Ramaswamy continues to run away.

Check out more clips of Ramaswamy dodging questions on the Epstein files when he did make an appearance in Ohio:

AP: He planned to run for Ohio governor. Now Jon Husted could be in the US Senate’s toughest 2026 race

“After their cross-endorsement event in Columbus, Ramaswamy rushes out of the room, past a swarm of shouting reporters.”

10TV: Husted, Ramaswamy endorse each other to show GOP unity ahead of 2026 election

“Unlike Husted and Triantafilou, Ramaswamy did not speak with reporters after the event”

NBC4: Sen. Jon Husted and Ohio Gov. candidate Vivek Ramaswamy endorse each other

“Both candidates promised to talk to reporters, but Ramaswamy instead made a quick exit.”

WXVU: Analysis: Vivek Ramaswamy goes silent on past demands to release Epstein files, 

“WVXU’s requests to Ramaswamy’s campaign staff and strategists for an interview with the candidate went unanswered.”

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Columbus, Ohio- Just over three weeks ago, all members of Ohio’s Republican congressional delegation allowed a government shutdown instead of lowering the cost of healthcare for Ohioans. Now, more than half a million Ohioans could be stuck paying more to get the care they need after Republicans continuously failed to take action. While Republicans refuse to help Ohioans afford healthcare coverage, Democrats are standing up for their constituents and are ready to get to work.

Over 583,000 Ohioans could soon see their healthcare premiums get more expensive or risk losing coverage entirely if Republicans allow tax credits that help families afford coverage to expire. At the same time, 490,000 Ohioans are at risk of being kicked off their healthcare entirely due to the big, ugly bill that all Ohio Republicans rubber stamped. 

See for yourself:

Columbus Dispatch: Ohioans under Obamacare to see health costs spike or lose coverage if tax credits expire

• Hundreds of thousands of Ohioans who buy health insurance in the Affordable Care Act marketplace will see their premium costs spike dramatically or be uninsured altogether if tax credits from the federal government expire.

• These “enhanced premium tax credits”, or subsidies, are at the center of the nearly two-week government shutdown. They currently help over 24 million people, among them 583,000 Ohioans, afford health insurance that isn’t connected to an employer, depending on their income, that they purchase through the ACA marketplace.

• But those subsidies are set to expire at the end of 2025, with no apparent plan to extend them. It’s a major sticking point for Democrats who are railing against Republican cost-cutting efforts to health care.

• If the enhanced premium tax credits expire, a KFF Health News analysis found that enrollees will see their premiums more than double in 2026.

• In Ohio, that could look like a $2,092 increase per year for a family of four making $126,000 in Franklin County, according to KFF Health News’ calculation tool. For a 60-year-old couple in Delaware County making $75,000, there could be a $1,943 increase per year.

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