Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, a Nevada Democrat, said on Oct. 30 that rising health insurance premiums are the result of decisions made by Republicans in Congress. She cited the expiration of enhanced ACA tax credits and cuts to Medicaid.
Her post was published at 8:29 p.m. on Oct. 30 and attached a newspaper article on 2027 Affordable Care Act premiums. Her full post reads:
“Premiums aren’t just going up on their own, costs are rising because of decisions Republicans in Congress made:
The GOP gutted Medicaid and then allowed ACA enhanced tax credits to expire. Over 5 million Americans had to drop their coverage as a result.
But uninsured people still get sick. And when they end up in emergency rooms because they couldn’t afford to get preventive care, that cost gets absorbed by everyone.
That means hospitals have to pay more to provide care, and working families then pay more for their health care coverage to make up the difference.
If Congressional Republicans had been willing to work with Democrats to keep Americans insured, we could have avoided this. But the GOP’s number one priority was tax cuts for the rich, no matter what that meant for the rest of us.”
The Attached Article
The article, headlined “Obamacare Dealt Yet Another Blow as Premiums Jump Again,” reports that average premiums in the ACA marketplaces will rise 13% next year, per an analysis published Friday by KFF. The administration published 2027 prices for the 30 states with federally run markets. KFF used that data and state figures to calculate the national increase.
The increase follows a 26% average rise in 2026, when premiums for the same plan more than doubled for many consumers after the Republican-led Congress let enhanced federal subsidies expire. KFF estimates enrollment fell by nearly five million as of June. The Commonwealth Fund found the uninsured rate among working-age adults has risen.
The article says the price increases largely reflect higher medical costs, including hospital prices and specialty drugs. It also describes them as the latest blow to the program under the administration, which let the tax credits lapse and erected new enrollment barriers.
The Administration’s Position
Administration officials attribute part of the drop-off to efforts to reduce fraud, arguing brokers enrolled fake consumers in subsidized coverage. In September, Vice President JD Vance said the government canceled coverage for about 750,000 people whose records lacked Social Security numbers and who had not used or contacted their insurer through August.
The administration also sent many ACA customers $500 checks this month to offset premiums. A government fact sheet noted that three-quarters of subsidized customers can still find plans for under $50 a month. Open enrollment begins Nov. 1, two days before the midterms.
Political Context
The article notes that Democrats forced a record 43-day government shutdown last year while seeking an extension of the subsidies. Aides to House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries have said he will schedule a vote on restoring the credits early in the next Congress if Democrats win a majority.
Cortez Masto’s Record
Cortez Masto has campaigned on the credits for more than a year. In a Sept. 26, 2025 roundtable in Reno, she said Republicans’ tax law would remove at least 100,000 Nevadans from Medicaid and that more than 20,000 could lose coverage without the credits. Her office said a Nevada family of four earning $56,000 would pay $205 more per month, or $2,460 per year.
In a Sept. 2, 2025 Las Vegas Sun op-ed, she said 250,606 small businesses and self-employed Nevada workers who qualified for the credits would see premiums rise. Her Sept. 19 statement on a Senate vote said she stood “ready to negotiate a bipartisan deal” to keep the government open and extend the credits.
During the shutdown, Cortez Masto repeatedly voted with Republicans to reopen the government, reportedly 15 times. She then voted for the deal that ended it, which promised a Senate vote on extending the credits. On Dec. 11, 2025, she said Senate Republicans “chose to let Nevadans’ health care premiums soar” by rejecting a three-year extension.
Her post’s claim about emergency room costs being shifted to insured patients is not addressed in the attached article. The article does not give a figure for the number of people who lost coverage because of Medicaid cuts. Her post cites “over 5 million” while KFF’s estimate is nearly five million as of June.