Three Michigan Democratic Congresswomen Attack Republican Health Care Policies

November 3rd is getting closer every day, and the health care rhetoric is intensifying.  Democrats may now be discussing health care to distract from the long lines at the airport.  Note that no Republican comments were solicited for this Michigan Advance post:

https://michiganadvance.com/2026/03/23/michigan-democrats-call-out-republican-health-care-cuts-on-16th-anniversary-of-aca-passage/

Michigan Democrats call out Republican health care cuts on 16th anniversary of ACA passage
By Katherine Dailey - March 23, 2026

On the 16th anniversary of the passage of the Affordable Care Act, U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Ann Arbor) said “Republicans remain steadfast in their determination to dismantle the progress we’ve made,” in a press conference on Monday alongside her fellow Reps. Rashida Tlaib (D-Detroit) and Hillary Scholten (D-Grand Rapids).

“16 years later, it can be easy to take for granted now just how monumental this legislation was at the time, and in real time, what we’re looking at and how we’re suddenly going backwards,” Dingell said. “Back then, it meant that having a preexisting condition wasn’t a death sentence, and that being a woman was no longer treated as a preexisting condition. And that is not an exaggeration. It meant young people could stand their parents’ plans. It meant millions of families, including so many here in Michigan, could finally afford to see a doctor, fill a prescription and get preventative care.”

The lack of extension of Affordable Care Act tax credits, which was a sticking point in the federal budget debate that led to a government shutdown at the end of 2025, was a central point of criticism for all three members of Congress who participated in the press conference, highlighting the increased health care costs for many Americans.

“Since the Republicans let it expire, about one in 10 enrollees have dropped their coverage and now are uninsured in our country,” Tlaib said. “According to a number of folks, more than half of the people re-enrolled in the Affordable Care Act plan said that they plan to cut spending on food and other basic household necessities to be able to afford their health care.”

Though Democrats currently have a minority in both chambers of Congress, Dingell said that she hopes to work with Republicans, where possible, to make health care more accessible to Americans. It’s a fight she has taken up for her late husband, former U.S. Rep. John Dingell, who served in Congress from 1955 to 2015, introducing legislation each term to create universal health care coverage.

Dingell said she sees the American health care system less as health care and more as “sick care,” a sentiment that Scholten echoed.

“We have been able to force substantive policy votes on major issues, including the Affordable Care Act tax credits,” Scholten added. “While we may not have the votes to ultimately get them passed or signed into law, we are forcing these conversations so that the American people know that we’re not just going to sit back and let Republicans ride roughshod over the American people.”

Outside of the press conference, Democratic leaders in Michigan similarly criticized Republican votes against extending the Affordable Care Act tax credits.

“Today, that progress is under attack—health care costs are skyrocketing across our state because Republicans are forcing ACA premium hikes, pricing hardworking Michiganders out of coverage,” Michigan Democratic Party Chair Curtis Hertel said in a press release on Monday. “Mike Rogers, the GOP candidates for governor, and Michigan Republicans in Congress are all backing these devastating premium hikes while pushing tax handouts for billionaires.”

Republican U.S. Reps. Bill Huizenga and Tom Barrett, who respectively represent Michigan’s 4th and 7th Congressional Districts, are also both targets of a nationwide ad campaign, launched on Monday by Protect Our Care, criticizing key votes by Republican members of Congress “for putting hospitals in crisis, attacking the ACA, and making Americans sick again.”