Kansas governor says health care cuts will have ‘disastrous effects’ if Congress can’t reach deal

Gov. Laura Kelly says Republicans in Congress should work with Democrats to roll back health care cuts in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. She is seen here at a July 9, 2025, news conference at Sternberg Museum of Natural History in Hays. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)

TOPEKA — Gov. Laura Kelly warned Wednesday that the loss of Affordable Care Act Marketplace tax credits will have “disastrous effects” on health care unless they are restored by Congress before enrollment begins Nov. 1.

Her remarks came as a new report predicts 108,000 Kansans will lose their Marketplace coverage because of provisions in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that President Donald Trump signed into law earlier this year.

Speaking at a news conference as chair of the Democratic Governors Association, Kelly called on Republicans to work with Democrats to restore the ACA Marketplace tax credits as part of a deal to avoid a shutdown of the federal government.

“Republicans have the opportunity to come to the table and negotiate a bipartisan bill in good faith that meets the needs of American people and prevents health care costs from skyrocketing because of the changes they made in the ‘one big, ugly bill.’ If they don’t, the consequences for the people we serve will be devastating,” Kelly said.

Democrats hope to leverage resentment for the so-called “big, beautiful bill” to force Republicans to restore cuts that could strip health insurance from 16 million Americans. Republicans control both the U.S. House and Senate but can’t pass a short-term spending plan without help from the Democrats. If the two sides can’t reach a deal, the federal government could shut down by the end of the month.

Kelly joined Delaware Gov. Matt Meyer and New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham to call attention to the ramifications of letting ACA Marketplace tax credits expire.

“For folks in rural communities like the many we have here in Kansas, access to health care has been further stripped away as rural hospitals face budget cuts that force them to shut down,” she said.

“And it’s the families in these rural towns who will have to face the life-threatening consequences of these closures,” she added. “It shouldn’t be that way, and it doesn’t have to be that way.”

The United Methodist Health Ministry Fund and REACH Healthcare Foundation released a report that shows more than 200,000 Kansans — at least 7% of the population in 45 of the state’s 105 counties — are currently enrolled in the ACA Marketplace. But 108,000 Kansans are expected to lose their Marketplace coverage over the next 10 years as costs increase by 77%, the report said.

The federal government offsets the costs of Marketplace health care plans by providing premium tax credits. Under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, those credits will expire this year.

“The bottom line is that the cost of health care is going to go up for tens of thousands of Kansans if Congress does not act,” said David Jordan, president of the United Methodist Health Ministry Fund. “The unfortunate reality is that too many of those Kansans will not be able to afford coverage and be forced to go without coverage. This will only lead to an increase in uncompensated care, putting hospitals at greater financial risk and raising costs for everyone else down the road.”

Last week, U.S. Senate Democrats blocked a stopgap spending measure that would fund the government through Nov. 21. Democrats proposed an alternative that would fund the government through Oct. 31 and permanently extend the ACA Marketplace tax credits, and reverse cuts to Medicaid.

The president refused a meeting with Democratic leaders and said in a statement on Truth Social that their plan was “unserious.” The president falsely claimed Democrats were trying to open borders, get rid of consequences for violent criminals, and “essentially create Transgender operations for everybody.”

“We must keep the Government open, and legislate like true Patriots rather than hold American Citizens hostage, knowing that they want our now thriving Country closed,” Trump wrote.

He added: “Otherwise, it will just be another long and brutal slog through their radicalized quicksand.”

Kelly said the president’s statement provides an opportunity for members of Congress “to step up and reclaim their role, their responsibility, their power, their authority to be the appropriators.”

“I can’t believe that there aren’t a number of Republicans in Congress, both the House and in the Senate, who would welcome the opportunity to demonstrate their commitment to their constituents,” Kelly said. “I just can’t believe that many of them did not like this aspect of the ‘big, ugly bill’ and would welcome the opportunity to sit down with Democrats and negotiate a compromise that allows for people to access their health care affordably.”

Meyer, the Delaware governor, said “the status quo is the intersection of cruel and incredibly expensive.” Families will be forced to choose between paying for housing, groceries or health care, he said.

Extending the ACA Marketplace credits “is one of the simplest ways for Congress to bring relief to working American families that, let’s be honest, are already stretched thin,” Meyer said.

“I think we’re here doing this because we think there are Republicans out there who are receptive to this, who are receptive to the people that they serve, all the people that they serve, and understand that if there’s not action taken soon, health care costs are going to spike,” Meyer said. “And that’s bad for their district, that’s bad for their state, and that’s bad for our whole country.”