Lawmakers remain at impasse over healthcare tax credits as government shutdown continues

OLYMPIA – Discussions over extending federal health care tax credits remain at a stalemate as the ongoing federal government shutdown stretches into its 22nd day, now the second longest in the nation’s history.

Standing on the steps of the Washington Capitol in Olympia, Democratic Congresswoman Emily Randall called on Speaker of the House Mike Johnson to bring Republican lawmakers back to the nation’s Capitol to discuss the premium health care tax credits set to expire at year’s end.

“Mike Johnson could call Congress back in at any time to negotiate a solution,” Randall said. “But instead, Senate Republicans are bringing the same vote before their body over and over and over again and over and over, expecting different results.”

Randall said Wednesday that she “briefly” spoke to Republican Rep. Dan Newhouse about the shutdown on a flight to Washington, D.C., more than a week ago, though without buy-in from leadership, “we don’t have a path forward.”

“We see federal polling that shows that Americans want us to deliver results on health care,” Randall said. “So I believe that my colleagues will have to eventually see that truth too, and come to the table.”

Meanwhile, Spokane Republican Rep. Michael Baumgartner told reporters this weekend he thought there was a “high likelihood” Democrats would push to set the record for the longest shutdown . To do so, the shutdown would need to last at least two more weeks.

“What’s really driving the shutdown is frustration in the Democrat base that their leadership is weak and ineffective and that they’re not fighting hard enough against President Trump,” Baumgartner said Sunday.

The shutdown seems all but certain to continue for the near future, as Democrats continue to push for an extension of the enhanced premium tax credits they say are essential to keeping insurance prices affordable. Ingrid Ulrey, CEO of the Washington Health Benefit Exchange, said last week an estimated 80,000 Washingtonians could be priced out of health insurance should the tax credits expire.

Initially approved in 2021 and later extended through the end of this year, the tax credits are scheduled to expire Dec. 31. However, if the tax credits are not extended before open enrollment begins on Nov. 1, Ulrey said people accessing the state’s health care finder will see “higher premium costs until a solution can be remedied.”

According to data provided by the Washington Health Benefit Exchange, the credits decrease yearly premium costs for customers by an average of $1,330.

“The clock is already running out on implementing an extension of these tax credits,” Insurance Commissioner Patty Kuderer said Wednesday. “Open enrollment starts on Nov. 1, this is not a Dec. 31 issue, as I’ve heard one congressman say; it is happening now.”

Kuderer appeared to be referencing comments Johnson made earlier this month that this “is an issue for the end of the year. Dec. 31 is when that expires.”

Randall said Republicans have been unwilling to “negotiate a solution to open the government, and to save the health care of so many Americans, and so many here in Washington state.”

The potential increase in health care costs, Randall said, is on top of higher costs of groceries and childcare.

With only a simple majority needed to pass a budget bill in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives, much of the power lies in the Senate, which will need at least seven Democrats to cross the aisle to end the shutdown.

Baumgartner renewed calls this weekend for Senate Democrats “to do the right thing and open the government up.”

“This is not a game,” Baumgartner said. “There are real people suffering from the shutdown, whether that’s federal employees that are being furloughed or paychecks that are not going out to important functions like air traffic control or TSA.”

According to data from the White House, around 77,000 federal workers in Washington state are either working without pay or are currently furloughed. Baumgartner said while he appreciated Trump’s efforts to ensure that military members continue to be paid, “that won’t be sustainable in the long term.”

Baumgartner said he would talk to local banks about short-term lending options for military members, though he added it was “negated, to some extent, with the president using other pots of money to pay the troops.”

While Baumgartner said he would be open to discussions on potentially extending the tax credits, “we’re not going to do it as part of a quid pro quo for ending the government shutdown.”