But reopening the government should not mean another massive giveaway to health insurance companies.
Here is what happens every time: Congress scrambles for a deal. The clock ticks down. And somehow, big insurance companies walk away with billions in new taxpayer subsidies while the biggest problems go unfixed.
This time needs to be different.
The Real Problem Insurance Coverage Isn’t Health Care
Health insurance isn’t the same thing as health care.
Patients pay thousands of dollars every month for insurance premiums. Then we visit the doctor and discover how little our insurance actually covers. High deductibles. Narrow networks. Prior authorizations that delay treatment for weeks or months. We are paying more and getting less. Meanwhile, insurance company executives collect record bonuses.
Medicare Advantage provides the clearest example. Corporate insurers have turned this program into a profit machine through documented fraud. Overpayments. Upcoding. Phantom billing. Risk-score gaming. These are not isolated incidents. They are deliberate business models designed to extract maximum taxpayer dollars.
The Congressional Budget Office has documented this. The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission has documented it. Even the insurers’ own SEC filings acknowledge these practices.
Common sense reforms could save hundreds of billions over a decade. Real money that could fund actual patient care instead of padding corporate balance sheets.
The Solution: Real Health Insurance Reform
The Trump administration has successfully brought other industries to the table to address wasteful spending. Why should Congress let big health insurance corporations off the hook?
End the overpayments. Prosecute the fraud. Stop rewarding companies that game the system at taxpayer expense.
These corporate giants demand tens of billions in subsidies to “keep the program running.” Then they pocket the cash and raise premiums anyway.
Enough.
Reopen Without the Insurance Giveaway
Yes, reopen the government. But do it without handing more blank checks to insurance companies that have already pocketed hundreds of billions through fraud, waste, and abuse.
Families across America are tired of serving as ATMs for corporate profits. We pay rising premiums. We pay taxes that fund subsidies. Then we struggle to access actual care when we need it.
Health insurance is not the same thing as health care. Congress needs to remember that distinction before writing another check to insurance executives.
Millions of patients are watching. We know where the money goes. We know who benefits. And we expect better. Reopen the government. Just stop using it as another payday for insurance companies.