John,

With four days to go until the Affordable Care Act subsidies expire, I wanted to sit down and go over why this is so bad for our country and what the GOP has done to help the situation.

It's an easy recap: The GOP has done nothing. The consequences of their inaction are going to hit this country hard.

The Affordable Care Act subsidies help make insurance more affordable to families, seniors, and low income Americans by lowering monthly premiums and out-of-pocket costs. It prevents people from being priced out of the health insurance they need to lead a happy, healthy life.

With the subsidies expiring at the end of the month, the average yearly cost of health insurance premiums for ACA enrollees is expected to more than double. For example, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation, someone paying $888 would now be saddled with a $1,904 bill. For most people this program helps, that amount is crushing. They will either be forced to go without coverage or sign up for cheaper plans that have bank-breaking out-of-pocket costs.

For so many, this will mean avoiding the care their body needs. This could lead to our populations getting sicker, our hospitals being overloaded, and our communities suffering. And the GOP, instead of seeing the emergency and extending the subsidies (or even coming up with an alternative that works), is choosing to ignore the problem.

No plan they've put forth even comes close to solving this issue. They're doing nothing but playing partisan games and waiting the year out. This is unacceptable. Healthcare affordability is something that should concern all of us and impacts many of us. Add your name to this petition to demand the GOP extend the ACA subsidies now >>

Thank you,

Chris Coons