Dear Health Advocates,

We are now two weeks from a government shutdown if Congress fails to pass a budget bill by September 30. Over the weekend, it was reported that Congressional Republicans are contemplating passing a short-term continuing resolution to kick the budget deadline to November 20. Democrats have been clear that extending the enhanced ACA premium tax credits that expire at the end of the year is their top priority in any funding deal.

This all means now is the time to lift up the need for Congress to extend the enhanced tax credits and this week and next will be key to our advocacy to ensure millions of Americans don't lose coverage. 

If Congress does not include this extension in their budget bill, 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.

We have new resources for your advocacy in this space, including new national and state fact sheets on the importance of these tax credits. We also have a resource page that gives more details on why these tax credits are so vital to all Americans, not juts those that benefit from the tax credits directly. Please also join us in sending an email to your members TODAY asking them to extend these enhanced credits and save American health care consumers thousands of dollars in health care costs.

State Partner Call

Please join Community Catalyst, CBPP, NHeLP and Families USA for our Fall Campaign to Protect Health Care Call tomorrow, Wednesday, September 17 at 1 pm 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.

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. We also ask that you fill out our pre-conference survey to help us make HAC even better for advocates like you! 

• Insights Blog: Secretary Kennedy’s Broken Promises and the Impact on Americans’ Health, Families USA.

• Webinar Recording: Priorities in 2026 MPFS and OPPS Proposed Rules, Families USA.

• Insights Blog: Planned Parenthood: Still Essential, Still Under Threat, Families USA.
• Fact Sheet: What’s Next for CMMI? Promise and Peril in the Latest Strategic Direction, Families USA.
• Insights Blog: A Trillion Dollar Cut to Care: The Fight for Medicare and Medicaid, Families USA.
• Fact Sheet: Federal Budget Reconciliation Law Implementation Timeline for Key Medicaid, Medicare, and Marketplace Provisions, Families USA.
• Insights Blog: Timeline of Trump’s New Health Care Law: What You Need to Know, Families USA.
• Blog: A Cut by Any Other Name: How “Strengthening” Asset Tests Hurts Medicaid, NHeLP.

• Blog: Medicaid Work Requirements Will Take Away Coverage From Millions: State and Congressional District Estimates, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

• Insights Blog: Actions by Trump and Congress are Leading to Skyrocketing Insurance Premiums in 2026, Families USA.

• Video: 90 Seconds or Less Policy Explainers. Families USA.

• Interactive Map: Tracking State Preparation for the Rural Health Transformation Program, State Health & Value Strategies.
• Article: The One Big Beautiful Bill Act Will Increase the Number of Americans Without Health Coverage in Every State and Congressional District, Center for American Progress.
• 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, Legal Action Center.

• Comments: Families USA Submits Comments On South Carolina’s Proposed Medicaid 1115 Demonstration Waiver, Families USA.

• Comments: Families USA Submits Comments On Preserving Medicaid Funding for Vulnerable Populations — Closing a Health Care-Related Tax Loophole Proposed Rule, Families USA.
• Comments: Families USA Submits Comments On the Iowa Health and Wellness Plan 1115 Demonstration Amendment, Families USA.

• Report: How Medicaid and SNAP Cutbacks in the “One Big Beautiful Bill” Would Trigger Big and Bigger Job Losses Across States, The Commonwealth Fund

• Fact Sheets: Congressional Medicaid Fact Sheets, Families USA.

• Sign On Letter Wrap Up: More than 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), Families USA.
• Analysis: Medicaid Expansion Reduces Maternal Mortality: Medicaid Cuts Would Be Deadly for Mothers and Babies, Families USA.

• Fact Sheet: Fact Sheet: Republicans Are Working to Gut Medicaid, a Lifeline for People With Mental Health Conditions and Opioid Addiction, 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, Families USA.

• Media Coverage of Families USA and State Partners Advocacy Work
  • WyoFile (Wyoming's independent, public-interest news service)  - Amid health care access worries, Wyoming could receive millions in short-term federal dollars
  • Capitol Beat (Georgia’s statewide nonprofit news outlet) -Health insurance changes coming to Georgia
  • Georgia Public Broadcasting - Georgia Today Sept 12 podcast story 8 - Health care advocates warned on Thursday that Georgia residents who have to find their own insurance in the government marketplace should expect significant rate increases next year. 

Have a great week,

Nate Keller

Senior Associate, Organizing and Mobilization

Families USA

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