The longest federal government shutdown in U.S. history has officially begun. Hundreds of thousands of federal workers—around 10% of them Latino and 30% veterans—are not receiving their paychecks. Families across the country are being forced to choose between paying for food, rent, or medical care. The truth is this: President Trump and his allies in Congress are inflicting this pain because they prefer to shut down the government rather than confront an imminent health care crisis that will drive up costs for more than 170 million people in this country.
This is a crisis created by this administration.
And it was entirely avoidable. Why? Trump and Congress are about to let a key funding program for the Affordable Care Act (ACA) expire—specifically, the extensions of premium tax credits. Without that funding source, out-of-pocket premiums paid by users will double for 22 million people—and 4.2 million will lose their coverage entirely.
We will all pay more for health care if ACA credits disappear.
As millions lose their insurance, hospitals and clinics will be forced to absorb billions in unpaid care costs, driving up premiums for everyone, whether they are insured through their employer or the ACA.
On top of Medicaid cuts approved by Republicans this year, 179 million people with employer-sponsored insurance could see their costs rise by up to $485 per person annually—or nearly $2,000 more for a family of four. Parents who will have to postpone checkups for their children. People with chronic illnesses facing impossible choices: buy insulin or pay rent? Start chemotherapy or pay the electric bill? An unexpected accident could leave a family unable to cover their mortgage or even buy food.
For the Latino community, rising health care costs aren’t just smoke—they’re a five-alarm fire. Latinos already lead the uninsured rate among all racial and ethnic groups in the U.S.
Fortunately, since the ACA’s implementation, the number of uninsured Latinos has declined nearly every year—from 32.6% in 2010 to an estimated 17% in 2024. That progress is largely due to additional funding approved in 2021, including the tax credits now at risk. If they are not renewed, those gains could vanish almost entirely. Without the credits, the uninsured rate among Latinos could rise by 15 percentage points. One study estimates that up to 1.3 million Hispanics could lose their insurance.
Even those who manage to keep their coverage will face higher costs if the credits are not extended. That 2021 funding allowed millions of working- and middle-class Latino families to see their premiums reduced or eliminated. Eighty percent of uninsured Latino adults were able to find a plan for less than $50 a month, and 69% could get one for free. But without the tax credits, those premiums could double.
And those same families could be forced to pay hundreds or thousands more each month.
Latino families are already struggling to make ends meet, with wages that remain the lowest among all racial and ethnic groups. A recent CBS survey found that two-thirds of Latinos have a negative view of the national economy, as their budgets are squeezed by rising costs for food, housing, electricity, and gasoline. And the Trump administration refuses to offer relief. The last thing these working families need is for Washington politicians to increase the cost of health insurance.
The message from the labor movement to the president and his allies in Congress is simple: fix the health care crisis, fund the government, and put working families first.
(*) Fred Redmond is secretary-treasurer of the AFL-CIO, the nation’s largest labor federation, representing 63 unions and nearly 15 million workers.
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