Dear Health Advocates,

The government shutdown is in its third week and Congress still hasn’t acted to make the enhanced premium tax credits permanent, putting affordable health care for more than 20 million people at risk. The House remains adjourned and the Senate is voting on continuing resolution proposals that don't have enough support to pass. There are multiple ways to get involved this week, which you can find below.

Organizational Sign-On Letter

As millions of families across the country struggle to pay for the high and rising cost of health care, we encourage your organization to join Families USA and other national and state advocates by signing on to a letter strongly urging Congress to permanently extend the enhancements to the premium tax credit without delay and without any changes. That includes not making changes to certain plans that offer zero-dollar premiums, which have been central to recent increases in the number of Americans enrolling in coverage. Increasing the monthly cost of health care coverage, even by relatively modest amounts, for people with limited income would create significant barriers for them to maintain coverage, putting them at risk of dropping out of coverage altogether due to added confusion and red tape.

The full letter can be found here and you can sign on here. The deadline to sign on is by Wednesday, October 15 by COB. 

Lower Health Care Costs Week of Action

Please join Families USA, Community Catalyst and other national and state partners THIS WEEK by taking action, sharing stories, and making our voices heard. You can find new and updated resources on the campaign page here.

• Tuesday, October 14: 24 Hours of Digital Power
  • Email and tag your Members of Congress. Share stories online. Join our BlueSky chat on premium tax credits.
• Wednesday, October 15: Connect Directly with Congress and Community
  • Host or attend an event with your Members of Congress or with local supporters and experts, like Navigators. Host a direct call-in day to Members of Congress.
• Thursday, October 16: Media Madness
  • We’ll provide tools throughout the week to engage reporters and keep premium tax credits -- and stories about the impact of rising health care costs -- in the news.
• Friday, October 17: Building Power with Thanks: We Can’t Stop Here
  • Close out the week by sharing photos, emails, and stories from the actions and keep the momentum going.
    

Health Action Conference

We also want to remind you that registration for Health Action Conference 2026 is 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 to 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: Vulnerable, Working Class Americans will be Hardest Hit if Congress Lets Premium Tax Credits Expire, Families USA.
• Article: What the Trump Administration, RFK Jr., and the MAHA Report Got Wrong About Improving Children’s Health, Center for American Progress.
• Press Release: New Data Shows Need for Immediate Action from Congress to Extend Enhanced Premium Tax Credits, Families USA.
• 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
• • News Center Maine (coverage of Health Care for Maine’s annual conference) – While Mainers face rising health care costs, leaders gather to find solutions
  • WyoFile (nonprofit news organization covering Wyoming)– Wyomingites brace for spiking health insurance prices as marketplace changes loom.
  • Daily Yonder (national nonprofit news organization covering rural America) - ‘You’re Going to See Very Severe Things and Dangerous Things’: Medicaid Cuts in Rural Idaho.

Have a great week,

Nate Keller

Senior Associate, Organizing and Mobilization

Families USA

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