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More Than Three Weeks After Government Shutdown, Republicans are Still Refusing to Lower Healthcare Costs for Ohioans

October 22, 2025

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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