Congressman Gabe Vasquez addressed a letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune demanding measures to protect farmers and rural New Mexicans from disproportionate increases in healthcare costs medical.

Vasquez urged Republicans to work with Democrats to pass a bipartisan funding bill that would reopen the government and extend the Affordable Care Act (ACA) enhanced premium tax credits that millions of farmers and rural Americans rely on to pay for their health insurance.

In the letter, Vasquez charges that millions of farmers and rural Americans face rising healthcare costs and declining access to essential healthcare services if Congressional Republicans do not work with Democrats to reach a bipartisan agreement that would open the government and address the healthcare crisis already plaguing rural America.

“Their inaction on the expanded ACA premium tax credits, coupled with drastic cuts to Medicaid, is a betrayal of all Americans. However, the burden of these cuts falls heavily on those who live in rural communities and those who work tirelessly to feed and supply our nation,” he charges.

He says that ACA health insurance marketplace enrollees are currently receiving premium notices for plan year 2026 showing an average premium increase of 18% nationally—double the average premium increase in 2025 and triple the average increase in 2024.

Furthermore, he says, The Rural Health Transformation Program, which Republicans tout as a new investment, does nothing to address the damage already being done to rural America's healthcare infrastructure by the Trump-sponsored One Big Beautiful Bill, a tax and spending package passed. This temporary infusion of funding fails to deliver the benefits to entire rural hospitals and providers, who stand to lose a total of $137 billion between the expiration of the ACA's enhanced tax credits and Medicaid cuts. As a result, rural hospitals across the country are closing their doors, forcing the burden on those living in rural areas. Since September,Vasquez has led an effort to urge Republican lawmakers to return to Washington and negotiate in good faith to reopen the government and keep healthcare affordable. He is also a cosponsor of the Protecting Health Care and Reducing Costs Act and the bipartisan Premium Tax Credit Extension Act. Both would extend the ACA's enhanced premium tax credits and prevent health care costs from skyrocketing for farmers, families, and individuals across New Mexico.

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