Undocumented immigrants are barred by law from enrolling in Medicare, Medicaid, or CHIP, and they are not allowed to buy coverage through the ACA exchanges or receive any of the subsidies Democrats are trying to preserve. The only care they can access is emergency treatment under EMTALA or limited emergency Medicaid, which is not full healthcare coverage. Your claim that the shutdown is over "free healthcare for illegals" is a GOP invented political mischaracterization, NOT fact. But I am open to seeing you prove otherwise.
It's not irrelevant. Bro, what's wrong with you? Why are you so willing to lie down with these bad-faith actors? This dude is a blind Trump-supporting zealot, who couldn't care less about healthcare. He is only repeating what they tell him to repeat. Jumping in bed with people like this only helps legitimize their lies, not make it easier to fight for something better than the ACA. They would oppose a hypothetical replacement too. You need to start thinking these things through, man, because this "Dems bad" shyt is clouding your judgement.
I'm sick of this absolutist framing people constantly engage in. The ACA isn't "garbage," nor is it "perfect." This kind of binary thinking erases real, measurable improvements to our healthcare system that the ACA is responsible for. You can't ignore how millions gained coverage, Medicaid was expanded to give low-income adults access to preventive and comprehensive care in most states that adopted it, and how protections like guaranteed coverage for pre-existing conditions became law. It's imperfect, because deductibles and cost issues still remain, but a huge part of those struggles come from sabotage, not just design.
Thanks to the SCOTUS, the Medicaid expansion was made optional. Thanks to Trump, the mandate was gutted, outreach funding was slashed, and junk plans were promoted -- all of this helped destabilize the market. If your problem is affordability, why cheer on the very sabotage that made it worse? And if you think the ACA isn't universal enough, that's fine -- then argue for building on it (like Medicare for All). But if you want it gone with no replacement, you're arguing to strip coverage and protections from millions.
Like, what makes you think something better could survive when this system is constantly being attacked, sabotaged, and threatened with repeal?
Research and data on The Affordable Care Act from KFF, the leading health policy organization in the U.S.
www.kff.org
This analysis of enrollment in Affordable Care Act (ACA) Marketplace health plans finds a record 24.3 million people enrolled in 2025, more than double the total in 2020, with most of the growth occurring in states won by President Trump in the 2024 election. In six states, enrollment more than...
www.kff.org
KFF estimates that, if Congress allows the enhanced premium tax credits to expire at the end of this year, ACA Marketplace enrollees on average would see their premium payments more than double next year, growing by 114%, from an average of $888 in 2025 to $1,904 in 2026,
www.kff.org
This literature review summarizes findings from 404 studies of the impact of state Medicaid expansions under the ACA published between January 2014 (when the coverage provisions of the ACA went into effect) and January 2020. It includes studies, analyses, and reports published by government...
www.kff.org
This issue brief examines Medicaid expansion enrollment and Medicaid spending in expansion and non-expansion states and describes the characteristics of adults covered by the Medicaid expansion.
www.kff.org
In 2024, ACA enrollment (including Marketplace, Medicaid expansion, and BHP) reached 44 million, or 16.4% of the nonelderly U.S. population. From 2020-2024, enrollment in ACA coverage increased by over 60%.
www.kff.org
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) expands access to health insurance in the United States, and, to date, an estimated 20 million previously uninsured individuals have gained coverage. Understanding the law’s impact on coverage, ...
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
The Affordable Care Act was intended to address systematic health inequalities for millions of Americans who lacked health insurance. Expansion of Medicaid was a key component of the legislation, as it was expected to provide coverage to low-income ...
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
This page displays an interactive map of the current status of state decisions on the Affordable Care Act's Medicaid expansion. Additional Medicaid expansion resources are listed (with links) below the map.
www.kff.org
arstechnica.com
