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Dear Health Advocates,
We are just three weeks from a potential government shutdown if Congress fails to pass a budget bill by September 30.
Our focus continues to be on health care affordability, and now is the time to lift up the need for Congress to extend the enhanced ACA premium tax credits that expire at the end of the year. If these enhanced tax credits expire, millions of people will lose coverage, causing them to delay or skip needed health care and take on medical debt they cannot afford. It will result in health care premiums and costs spiking for everyone, whether you get your health care through Medicaid, your employer or on the private insurance market.
Congressional Republicans have been increasingly aware for the need to extend the health care tax credits, including some introducing a bill for a short one-year extension. This short extension wouldn't be a robust solution for families and the health care community must continue to be pushing for permanent extension, however it shows some Republican's readiness to open the conversation on extension. In this context, Families USA is updating our state and national fact sheets on the importance of the enhanced premium tax credits. As proposed premium rates increases are released — showing sharp spikes across the country [[link removed]] — we must hold Congress accountable and demand they extend these premium tax credits. Please join us in sending an email to your members [[link removed]] TODAY asking them to extend these enhanced credits and save American health care consumers thousands of dollars in health care costs. See more ways to get involved in this effort below in our Action Items [#action] section.
State Partner Call
Please join Community Catalyst, CBPP, NHeLP and Families USA for our Fall Campaign to Protect Health Care Call on Wednesday, September 17 at 1:00-2:00 p.m. ET . During the call we’ll walk through the latest intel on the federal landscape and share new call-to-action campaign resources to advocate for the extension of the enhanced premium tax credits and hold Congress accountable for devasting health care cuts that will terminate health coverage for millions. We will also hear from state partners on their Fall advocacy plans. Register here. [[link removed]*79pd6f*_gcl_au*MTc2NDY4Nzk5Ni4xNzUzMzc0MzgwLjExNTMyNjA3MjkuMTc1NzMzODI4NS4xNzU3MzM4Mjg0*_ga*MjExMDM0Nzg3OC4xNzQ1NjA2NTc3*_ga_L8TBF28DDX*czE3NTczNjQwOTEkbzU3JGcxJHQxNzU3MzY0MDkzJGo1OCRsMCRoMA..]
Health Action Conference
We also want to remind you that registration for Health Action Conference 2026 is officially OPEN! The conference will be held from January 22-23 here in Washington, DC at the Capital Hilton. Whether you're a HAC veteran or a first-timer, we hope you can join other dynamic health advocates from across the country at our annual convening where we will strengthen the movement for health and health care justice.
Find more details and register here [[link removed]?] . We also ask that you fill out our pre-conference survey [[link removed]] to help us make HAC even better for advocates like you!
HAC Registration [[link removed]?]
Pre-Conference Survey [[link removed]]
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* NEW! Sign On: Community Catalyst asks that you join them in holding Congress accountable for lowering prices for American health care consumers by signing onto this letter [[link removed]] and emphasizing the following issues: * Immediately extend the enhanced premium tax credits to prevent premiums from skyrocketing in plan year 2026; and
* Avert the most harmful impacts of H.R. 1 by passing the Protecting Healthcare And Lowering Costs Act [[link removed]] .
* Deadline is Wednesday, September 10 at 5 PM ET!


* URGENT! Take Action: Send a letter [[link removed]] to your Senators and Representatives asking them to extend Enhanced Advanced Premium Tax Credits this year before they expire!
* NEW! Sign Ons: Join Families USA in asking the Administration to prioritize pro-consumer reforms in this year's Medicare payment rules by signing on to our MPFS and OPPS CY 2026 comment letters * Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) * Sign on [[link removed]] no later than EOD Friday, September 12
* Letter text [[link removed]]


* Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) * Sign on [[link removed]] no later than EOD Thursday, September 11
* Letter Text [[link removed]]




* NEW! Sign On Letter: PREEMIE Act & Preventing Maternal Deaths Act * March of Dimes invites you to sign on [[link removed]] to a coalition letter [[link removed]] urging Congress to pass the PREEMIE Reauthorization Act [[link removed]] and Preventing Maternal Deaths Act [[link removed]] . They are the only federal laws dedicated to the research, prevention and treatment of preterm birth, and providing federal support for maternal mortality review committees (MMRCs), respectively. Please contact Andrew Fullerton [[email protected]] if you have any questions. Please sign on your organization before September 26th!


* Take Action: Send an email [[link removed]] to your Senators and Representatives asking them to prioritize affordability in the budget bill!
* Petition: Sign [[link removed]] the petition to [[link removed]] stop the attacks on the Title X Family Planning Program [[link removed]] , Power to Decide.
* Call to Action: Please join Families USA and Tell Your Members of Congress: Health Care Cuts Are Unacceptable: Email Writing Campaign [[link removed]]
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* NEW! Insights Blog: Secretary Kennedy’s Broken Promises and the Impact on Americans’ Health [[link removed]] , Families USA.
* NEW! Webinar Recording: Priorities in 2026 MPFS and OPPS Proposed Rules [[link removed]] , Families USA.
* NEW! Press Release: Weeks Away from End of Fiscal Year, Trump is Blocking $410+ Billion in Funding Owed to Communities Nationwide, [[link removed]] House and Senate Appropriations Dems.
* NEW! Article: The One Big Beautiful Bill Act Will Increase the Number of Americans Without Health Coverage in Every State and Congressional District, [[link removed]] Center for American Progress.
* NEW! One Pager : Protecting People with Substance Use Disorders and Formerly Incarcerated Individuals from Losing Medicaid Coverage: Recommendations on Implementing the H.R. 1 Work Reporting Requirements [[link removed]] , Legal Action Center.
* NEW! Policy Brief: Rural Health [[link removed]] Transformation Fund and Community Health Workers [[link removed]] , Partners In Health.
* NEW! Interactive Map: Tracking State Preparation for the Rural Health Transformation Program [[link removed]] , State Health & Value Strategies.
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* THIS WEEK: Webinar: How Will States Implement Medicaid Work Requirements? [[link removed]] KFF.
* NEXT WEEK! Fall Campaign to Protect Health Care Call * Please join Community Catalyst, CBPP, NHeLP and Families USA for our Fall Campaign to Protect Health Care Call on Wednesday, September 17 at 1:00-2:00 p.m. ET . During the call we’ll walk through the latest intel on the federal landscape and share new call-to-action campaign resources to advocate for the extension of the enhanced premium tax credits and hold Congress accountable for devasting health care cuts that will terminate health coverage for millions. We will also hear from state partners on their Fall advocacy plans. Register here [[link removed]*79pd6f*_gcl_au*MTc2NDY4Nzk5Ni4xNzUzMzc0MzgwLjExNTMyNjA3MjkuMTc1NzMzODI4NS4xNzU3MzM4Mjg0*_ga*MjExMDM0Nzg3OC4xNzQ1NjA2NTc3*_ga_L8TBF28DDX*czE3NTczNjQwOTEkbzU3JGcxJHQxNzU3MzY0MDkzJGo1OCRsMCRoMA..]


* NEXT WEEK! Webinar: Protecting People with SUD and Formerly Incarcerated Individuals from Losing Medicaid Coverage: Recommendations on Implementing Work Reporting Requirements [[link removed]] , Legal Action Center.
* Advocates Meeting: Wednesday Advocates Meeting Zoom call [[link removed]] , Coalition on Human Needs hosting every Wednesday at 9:30 AM ET.
* Shared Advocacy Calendar: Coalition on Human Needs [[link removed]] . Check out weeks of action and upcoming events!
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National Resources
* Insights Blog: Planned Parenthood: Still Essential, Still Under Threat [[link removed]] , Families USA.
* Fact Sheet: What’s Next for CMMI? Promise and Peril in the Latest Strategic Direction [[link removed]] , Families USA.
* Insights Blog: A Trillion Dollar Cut to Care: The Fight for Medicare and Medicaid [[link removed]] , Families USA.
* Fact Sheet: Federal Budget Reconciliation Law Implementation Timeline for Key Medicaid, Medicare, and Marketplace Provisions [[link removed]] , Families USA.
* Insights Blog: Timeline of Trump’s New Health Care Law: What You Need to Know [[link removed]] , Families USA.
* Blog: A Cut by Any Other Name: How “Strengthening” Asset Tests Hurts Medicaid [[link removed]] , NHeLP.
* Blog: Medicaid Work Requirements Will Take Away Coverage From Millions: State and Congressional District Estimates [[link removed]] , Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.


* Insights Blog: Actions by Trump and Congress are Leading to Skyrocketing Insurance Premiums in 2026 [[link removed]] , Families USA.
* Video: 90 Seconds or Less Policy Explainers. [[link removed]] Families USA.


State Resources
* Comments: Families USA Submits Comments On South Carolina’s Proposed Medicaid 1115 Demonstration Waiver [[link removed]] , Families USA.


* Comments: Families USA Submits Comments On Preserving Medicaid Funding for Vulnerable Populations — Closing a Health Care-Related Tax Loophole Proposed Rule [[link removed]] , Families USA.
* Comments: Families USA Submits Comments On the Iowa Health and Wellness Plan 1115 Demonstration Amendment [[link removed]] , Families USA.
* Report: How Medicaid and SNAP Cutbacks in the “One Big Beautiful Bill” Would Trigger Big and Bigger Job Losses Across States [[link removed]] , The Commonwealth Fund


* Fact Sheets: Congressional Medicaid Fact Sheets [[link removed]] , Families USA.
Medicaid Defense
* Sign On Letter Wrap Up: More t [[link removed]] han 85 National Organizations Urge Senate to Reject “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” Health Care Cuts and Prioritize Transparency, Rigor of Analysis, and Constituents’ Health Access (06/15/2025) [[link removed]] , Families USA.
* Analysis: Medicaid Expansion Reduces Maternal Mortality: Medicaid Cuts Would Be Deadly for Mothers and Babies [[link removed]] , Families USA.
* Fact Sheet: Fact Sheet: Republicans Are Working to Gut Medicaid, a Lifeline for People With Mental Health Conditions and Opioid Addiction [[link removed]] , Protect Our Care.


* Insights Blog: Work Reporting Requirements Don’t Work: An in-depth look as Idaho moves closer to adding costly red tape to Medicaid, [[link removed]] Families USA.


Other Resources
* Media Coverage of Families USA and State Partners Advocacy Work * Idaho Stateman – Under Idaho Medicaid law, doctors warn kids’ access to primary care is at risk [[link removed]]
* Maine Morning Star - Report warns hospitals in Aroostook, Ellsworth face imminent risk of closure due to Medicaid cuts [[link removed]]
* urango Herald (op-ed) - Rep. Jeff Hurd has turned his back on Colorado’s 3rd District [[link removed]]
* Maine Morning Star: Medicaid cuts could cost Maine hospitals $66 million a year, report finds [[link removed]]
* Charleston Gazette Mail: Already struggling WV hospitals brace for costly budget reconciliation law impacts [[link removed]]
* Argonaut, University of Idaho’s student newspaper - Idaho senators and representative signal support for Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” [[link removed]]




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CONNECT [[email protected]?subject=Wanting%20to%20connect&body=] GIVE FEEDBACK [[link removed]]
Have a great week,
Nate Keller
Senior Associate, Organizing and Mobilization
Families USA
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