WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff said Republicans who support the tax-and-spending bill championed by President Donald Trump must also be held accountable for the impact of the Medicaid cuts contained in the package.
And that includes Ossoff’s most prominent would-be challengers next year, two of whom voted for the bill as members of the U.S. House and a third who said he would have if he were in office.
“My Republican opponents own this,” Ossoff said in an exclusive interview on Monday’s “Politically Georgia” podcast. “They supported this policy, even though they were warned by health care and hospital leaders across the state of Georgia that this would damage health care in Georgia.”
It is the sharpest criticism to date from Ossoff of U.S. Reps. Mike Collins and Buddy Carter and former football coach Derek Dooley, the three top contenders in the GOP primary that will determine who faces Ossoff in the 2026 election.
Ossoff pointed to the recent announcement from St. Mary’s Sacred Heart Hospital in northeast Georgia that it is closing its labor and delivery unit because of the Medicaid cuts outlined in Trump’s “big, beautiful bill.”
Additionally, a South Georgia hospital, Evans Memorial in Claxton, said in August that it is facing a $3.3 million budget shortfall next year unless changes are made at the federal level.
Ossoff predicted Republicans campaigning against him will face tough questions from voters.
“I certainly would not want to be in their shoes and have to travel the state for the next year defending this,” he said. “They own this now, and they need to explain their votes.”
Ossoff also discussed the expiration of enhanced Affordable Care Act tax credits that were implemented during the pandemic and have helped millions more Americans afford health care.
Some congressional Democrats say they are willing to allow the government to shut down if Republicans remain unwilling to extend the subsidies as part of negotiations on temporary government funding.
Ossoff joined most Democrats in the Senate in a vote Friday rejecting a House-passed funding bill that did not extend the tax credits. He voted in favor of a Democrat-led proposal that included the health coverage language.
He told “Politically Georgia” that Congress needs to find a way to prevent the anticipated price increases for health coverage if the subsidies expire.
“Why right now is the president of the United States and Republican leaders in Congress not working with us as swiftly as possible to prevent these health insurance premium increases?” he said. “This should be something that we can agree on, and I think it’s going to be very difficult for the administration and for Republican elected officials and candidates in Georgia over the next year to explain why they allowed those kinds of increases in health insurance premiums.”
About the Author
Keep Reading
The Latest
Featured
