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In 2012, Congress passed the Affordable Care Act. It expanded health care for roughly 40 million people, protected people with pre-existing conditions and fundamentally changed the way we think: Health care isn’t a privilege. It’s a human right.
In 2023, Democrats in Congress strengthened the Affordable Care Act with new tax credits. That resulted in record numbers of enrollment in health insurance — 21.3 million people signed up in 2024. Democrats also capped the cost of insulin at $35 a month for seniors — a move that has saved Indianapolis residents thousands of dollars.
This health care expansion came at no extra cost to everyday families. We paid for it through improved IRS tax enforcement for the wealthiest of Americans. No one making less than $400,000 a year was impacted by this enforcement policy.
The federal government loses out on billions of dollars each year through the tax gap — the difference between what taxes are owed and what the government collects in taxes. It’s estimated that from 2014 to 2016, that amount was over $400 billion.
We can and should fund health care for American families, and we can and should do it without adding to the national debt.
But less than two years into his presidency — and 14 years after the Affordable Care Act passed — President Donald Trump has gutted our progress.
Trump’s war in Iran has caused gas prices to skyrocket. His tariffs have caused the prices of everyday goods — like electronics, groceries, and baby and household items — to soar.
And Trump and congressional Republicans caused the cost of health care for an average family of four to increase a staggering $12,900 by eliminating Democrats’ tax credits. That’s on top of Trump Medicaid cuts that will result in an estimated 11.8 million Americans losing their health insurance. It’s already impacting Indiana. Indiana nursing homes are missing out on hundreds of millions of dollars.
We are in a health care crisis.
Democrats are poised to take back the House in November. I will be fighting to reverse Trump’s health care crisis and build on the progress Democrats started — first and foremost by restoring Democrats’ Affordable Care Act tax credits that expanded health care for millions. We also need to restore full funding to Medicaid after Trump cuts and expand it. Millions of families — veterans, children and seniors — are already losing out on coverage.
A lesser-known attack on health care from the Trump administration is the president’s aggressive effort to dismantle the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, an entity I fought to establish.
Trump has tried to revoke a rule to remove medical debt from credit reports, an attack currently being considered in the courts.
He has created a cruel cycle: Take away insurance from millions of Americans, causing them to accrue large amounts of medical debt. Then allow medical debt to further crush family’s credit, forcing them to file for bankruptcy. It’s estimated that 62% of bankruptcies are attributed in part to medical debt.
There’s no question Trump’s health care cuts have harmed our community. But Democrats have a proven legacy of success in expanding health care. When we win back the House this year, I’m eager to restore — and expand — these programs and bring relief to hardworking Hoosiers.•
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Carson, a Democrat, is seeking re-election to represent the 7th District. Send comments to [email protected].
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