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ICYMI: Ohio Patients, Health Care Providers Sound the Alarm on Jon Husted’s Health Care Crisis

Warren, Ohio — With open enrollment now underway, health care premiums are skyrocketing for an estimated 583,000 Ohioans as the ACA tax credits are set to expire at the end of this year.

Last week, Ohio patients and health care providers sounded the alarm in Warren on Jon Husted’s health care crisis. Husted has already voted eight times against lowering health care costs and continues to attack the ACA tax credits that Ohioans rely on, claiming they are “not the way to go about it.”

See for yourself:

WFMJ: Ohioans Call Out Jon Husted For His Health Care Crisis

  • Lindsay McCoy: With the Affordable Care Act tax credits set to expire, and open enrollment now underway, Ohioans could see their premiums double this year. 
  • Lindsay McCoy: The group blames Senator Husted saying he refused to act, saying that he used the Affordable Care Act as a political talking point but offers no alternatives to people in need of the subsidy. 
  • Janeen Shakelford, Warren resident: “You are supposed to be for the people, you are on the HELP Committee in the Senate, and you are not helping us. You’re making it harder for us and more difficult to live the American dream […].”
  • Lindsay McCoy: The group also calls out the U.S. Senator for voting against lowering health care premiums eight times.

WKBN: Local group gathers in Warren to push for ACA tax credit extension

  • Outside the now-closed Insight Hospital and Medical Center Trumbull, a group of people held signs that said “Lower our Healthcare Costs” and “Save Our Healthcare.” 
  • They’re voicing their concerns about the impending expiration of Affordable Care Act (ACA) tax credits. It would mean a price hike for many people who rely on the marketplace for coverage.
  • “I started off with around a $200 bill. My tax credits, if they are removed, have increased my cost to over $935 per month, which is $300 more than my mortgage,” said Janeen Shackleford, who relies on ACA for coverage.
  • Dr. Alexis Smith said when people lose insurance, preventable conditions go untreated.
  • “Emergency rooms become the primary source of care, families delay seeing a doctor until problems are more advanced and more expensive to manage,” she said. “Jon Husted and the Republicans need to extend the subsidies that keep Ohioans insured, healthy and financially stable.”

WFMJ: Patients, providers claim U.S. Senator failed to protect healthcare costs

  • Some patients and health care providers met in Warren on Friday to share their thoughts on what they are calling a “health care crisis”, one they say United States Senator Jon Husted, who represents Ohio, has contributed to.
  • With the Affordable Care Act (ACA) tax credits set to expire at the end of 2025, and with enrollment now open, some Ohio residents could be seeing their health care premiums double.
  • The group present at the conference argued that Senator Husted refused to act to protect health care, specifically citing the ACA, claiming that Husted voted against lowering healthcare premiums eight times.
  • “Think about the people we know. The single parent here in Warren working two jobs, the small business owner in Salem trying to keep the doors open, the contractor in Youngstown whose employer does not offer coverage. These are the people who stand to lose the most from subsidy cuts,” said Dr. Smith.

The Vindicator: Valley residents protest Husted over Obamacare tax credits

  • Local residents, organized by a left-leaning organization, spoke against U.S. Sen. Jon Husted for not extending the Affordable Care Act’s tax credits that expire at the end of the month.
  • Janeen Shackelford of Youngstown said the credits “have been a lifeline for me. They allowed me to become a real estate agent knowing I could afford coverage on the marketplace. Now, because of Jon Husted’s votes, my premiums are tripling next year and I won’t be able to afford my health insurance.”
  • Shackelford was among about a dozen people Friday outside the closed Insight Hospital and Medical Center Trumbull in Warren to speak against the Republican senator regarding the expiring ACA tax credits.
  • Mike Phifer of Warren said Friday that Husted’s position means “my premiums, and thousands of others, are going up next year. It’s just one more thing getting more expensive thanks to Sen. Husted.”

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NEW: Jon Husted Doesn’t Think There Is an Affordability Crisis in Ohio

Columbus, Ohio — Today, Jon Husted claimed that the affordability crisis only exists in “blue states” and not in Ohio — ignoring the harsh reality for Ohioans that are paying more thanks to Husted’s affordability crisis.

Husted’s reckless tariffs are driving up prices across the board, while his votes on health care are sending premiums soaring for more than half a million Ohioans. As energy and grocery bills rise, Husted refuses to acknowledge the crisis he helped create.

WATCH: 

Transcript: 

Jon Husted: Remember, the affordability crisis is the worst in blue states, in blue cities and in Republican states, you know, we’ve done things like in Ohio, we embraced fracking and oil extraction and lowering energy costs. 

Ohio Democratic Party Senior Communications Advisor Tony Wen released the following statement: 

“Jon Husted may not think there is an affordability crisis, but Ohio families living with higher grocery bills, higher health care premiums, and higher energy bills would beg to differ. Husted can pretend that this crisis doesn’t exist, but Ohioans are paying the price for his votes every day.” 

Read more about Jon Husted’s Affordability Crisis: 

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ICYMI: Ramaswamy Slammed for “Embarrassing” Policy So Bad His Supporters Searched for “Nonsensical Explanations” 

Columbus, Ohio- In case you missed it, the Ironton Tribune editorial board slammed Vivek Ramaswamy’s botched education policy rollout where he revealed a policy so bad his own supporters thought it was AI. Even Republicans know Ramaswamy has the wrong idea for Ohio.

See for yourself: 

  • Last week, the campaign of Democratic Ohio gubernatorial candidate Dr. Amy Acton posted a seven-second clip of her rival, Republican candidate Vivek Ramaswamy to her social media feeds. 
  • The clip featured Ramaswamy making a pitch to do away with summer break for students, making schools go year round and extend the length of the school day in the state.  
  • Setting aside the fact that year-round school has been proven to costs states more, due to increased expenses, such as utilities, wear and tear on buildings, as well as more staffing and administrative costs, looking at schools as a way to provide cheap or “free” babysitters shows Ramaswamy may have his priorities wrong when it comes to educational policy.  […]
  •  So it came as no surprise that the idea was deeply unpopular with many, even in Ramaswamy’s own party.  
  • Conservative commentator Meghan McCain described it “an absolutely insane idea” and said it was “completely removing the importance of family bonding time and anything non-academic related.”  
  • Rather than defend Ramaswamy’s policy idea, some Republicans and conservatives instead tried a different approach – concocting an elaborate, ludicrous conspiracy theory to try to clear away Ramaswamy’s ill-received idea.  
  • And Ramaswamy’s campaign eventually admitted, to the Columbus Dispatch, that the video, which they had deleted, was, in fact, a legitimate recording of their candidate.
  • Ramaswamy’s campaign owes Ohioans a better explanation here. Simply erasing the video, after their allies tried to claim it was fake, and hoping the matter vanishes down the memory hole is not sufficient.  
  • This entire display has been pure amateur hour – whether it is the nonsensical claims of fringe media figures Ramaswamy allies with or the campaign’s garbled explanation of the video and lack of clarification of his position, whatever that may be.  

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ICYMI: Ohioans Struggle With Higher Costs Under Jon Husted

Columbus, Ohio — Whether it’s groceries, food, or health care, Ohioans are paying more thanks to Jon Husted’s affordability crisis. 

Husted’s reckless tariffs are driving up prices across the board, and his votes on health care are sending premiums soaring. Instead of fighting to lower costs, Husted has doubled down, saying that critics “are wrong” about the tariffs, they “haven’t affected the economy negatively,” and “the policies are working.”

See For Yourself:

Kent Stater: Tariffs hit local businesses in Northeast Ohio

  • Local manufacturers and business owners are feeling the trickle-down impact on many key products they import. 
  • “It’s a lot of extra things now that I have to do to make up for not being able to get the other things,” local artist and dice maker, Faith Burns, said.
  • “The lack of stability this year, the chaos at the federal government level, has made it tough for companies to know where they’re going next, what income they’re going to have,” John Kelly, the director of business development at the Tuscarawas County Economic Development Corporation, said.
  • At a local Kent coffee shop, sourcing coffee beans is driving up their costs, meaning they are passing a 5% fee on bags of coffee onto their customers. 

Axios: Tariffs are shaking up Ohio manufacturing

  • Driving the news: One-third of Ohio manufacturers say tariffs have already affected their sales, according to the report.
  • By the numbers: Two in five surveyed say rising raw material costs are hindering growth.
  • Cases of “significant” cost pressure jumped from 7.7% in 2023 to 10.9% in 2025.
  • 30% say political uncertainty is slowing growth, the highest level since tracking began in 2018.

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NEW REPORTING: Health Care Costs Soar Thanks to Jon Husted’s Health Care Crisis

“For one Ohio woman, monthly premiums have skyrocketed to $1,700 a month”

Columbus, Ohio — New reporting shows how devastating Jon Husted’s health care crisis has become for Ohio families. More than half a million Ohioans are bracing for massive premium hikes, with one woman’s bill increasing to $1,700 a month.

Despite this, Husted voted eight times against lowering health care costs and continues to attack the ACA tax credits that Ohioans rely on, claiming they are “not the way to go about it.”

Read more about Jon Husted’s health care crisis:

Scripps News: How eliminating government subsidies could impact those who rely on the Affordable Care Act

  • We first heard from Griffith about a month ago, when she thought her ACA premiums would go from $240/month to $1,200/month. However, after looking into it further, she said it’s closer to $1,700/month.
  • “Health care should never be a political issue,” said Griffith. “It should be affordable. People in this country need health care. If you don’t have it, you go bankrupt.”
  • Griffith said she retired a bit early to take care of her mom. She said that if the proposed ACA government subsidies are cut, they’ll have to find the money somewhere else.
  • “We’ll have to go into savings. We’ll have to look at retirement accounts,” said Griffith.
  • For Griffith, she said the lower-cost ACA plan has been a lifeline for her and so many others that Congress has to figure out soon.

WHIO: Millions of Ohioans worried about possible increase in ACA subsidies

  • About 24 million Americans get their health insurance through the Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace. As reported on News Center 7 Daybreak, over 90 percent currently receive some tax credit, which helps keep those premiums down. They are scheduled to expire at the end of the year.
  • For Joe Stamps, owner of Stamps of Approval Hair Studio, that means a premium of around $500 a month.
  • Emma Wager is a senior analyst for the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF). Her group estimates that the average person who buys insurance through the ACA market will see their premiums more than double in the New Year.
  • A 60-year-old couple will see their plan skyrocket by over 250 percent or around $1,500 per month for the plan, according to KFF.
  • Stamps is one of 4 million people that KFF estimates will go without full insurance if the tax credits expire.
  • “That’s just really one day at a time, trusting God to take care of me, because the system does not seem to work for you, but they will use you to make money from you,” he said. “So, it’s just one of those things.”

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