The numbers hit hard, but the human toll lands harder. Twenty million Americans who once found refuge in Affordable Care Act (ACA) coverage are now confronting an unbearable truth: their premiums have doubled, even tripled, with no warning and little recourse. On January 16, in a national briefing hosted by American Community Media (ACOM), ethnic media outlets gathered in collective urgency. Together, we listened, questioned, and elevated the voices of those most affected by a system fraying at its seams.
Moderated by ACOM Health Editor Sunita Sohrabji, the conversation opened a window into a healthcare reckoning. On the call: Anthony Wright of Families USA, Stanford economist Dr. Neale Mahoney, and Meredith Basie of Patients for Affordable Drugs. Their message was clear: this isn’t just a fiscal crisis—it’s a crisis of values.
A New Year, A Crueler Choice
“This month, we’ve seen a massive premium spike—on average over $1,000—but for many, it’s thousands more,” shared Anthony Wright. As Executive Director of Families USA, Wright didn’t mince words. With enhanced premium tax credits gone, families who once paid $0 to $10 a month now face premiums in the hundreds, even thousands.
For older Americans and those living paycheck to paycheck, it’s nothing short of financial whiplash. Couples in their 50s and 60s are suddenly looking at $15,000 insurance bills. Already, 1.4 million people have fallen off ACA coverage. Wright calls it “the tip of the iceberg.”
These are not abstract numbers. These are the decisions our communities are making at dinner tables across America: Do I keep my healthcare or pay rent this month?
When Politics Trumps People
Wright didn’t hold back in naming the cause. This healthcare collapse, he said, was entirely preventable.
“Congressional leaders had the chance to extend these tax credits. The House even passed a bipartisan measure. But the Senate let it die.”
The choice not to act—especially with widespread bipartisan and public support—feels more like abandonment than gridlock. For legal immigrants, including domestic violence survivors and DACA recipients, it’s an added layer of disenfranchisement. Coverage that once gave them dignity has been quietly stripped away.
While California and New Mexico are trying to soften the blow, Wright emphasized that state budgets can only stretch so far: “What states can do is a fraction of what was in the federal deal.”
When Healthcare Becomes a Luxury
Dr. Neale Mahoney, speaking not just as an economist but as a concerned citizen, traced how healthcare has swallowed our national budget. “We’ve gone from spending 8% of GDP to 18%,” he said. “And not because we’re getting better outcomes. Because our prices are too high.”
He broke it down in dollars and cents: $27,000 a year is now the average cost of family insurance coverage. That’s the price of a decent used car. For small businesses, those numbers are forcing impossible decisions: cut wages, drop coverage, or let workers go.
But what resonated most was his acknowledgment of what many immigrant families already know: when co-pays skyrocket and deductibles soar, people stop going to the doctor. They delay care. They suffer in silence.
“We used to believe co-pays would discourage wasteful spending. But what they’re discouraging is survival,” Mahoney admitted.
The High Price of Monopolies
Meredith Basie took us inside the pharmaceutical machinery—a system where the cost of medicine is dictated not by need, but by monopolies.
“Americans pay 4 to 8 times more for the same drugs as patients in other countries,” she said. Why? Because pharmaceutical corporations have been allowed to dictate launch prices and stretch out patents until competition is crushed.
And yet, there is a breakthrough: on January 1, 2026, Medicare finally began negotiating the cost of 10 high-use drugs. Insulin, cancer meds, and immunotherapies. Prices have dropped by as much as 63%.
“This was a 20-year fight,” Basie said, her voice laced with hard-won resolve. But the pharmaceutical industry has already filed over a dozen lawsuits to block these reforms. As always, progress comes with resistance.
The Immigrant Factor
For immigrant communities, this healthcare crisis is personal and immediate. Legal residents are being pushed out of coverage they once qualified for. DACA recipients and survivors of trafficking are no longer eligible under federal law.
In California, Minnesota, and Illinois, even progressive state programs are being cut back under budget strain. Undocumented immigrants remain excluded, left to rely on overburdened safety nets or nothing at all.
This is not just an issue of health. It’s about who counts, who gets care, and who gets left behind.
Where We Go From Here
“Congress can still act,” Wright reminded us. “And if they do, we need a new open enrollment window so people can come back into the system.”
The road ahead is steep. But through it all, the ethnic media community stands firm—amplifying the voices left out of Washington briefings and network news. These are our families, our neighbors, and our readers.
In this briefing, one thing became clear: America’s healthcare crisis isn’t just about premiums or deductibles. It’s about priorities. And for the immigrant communities we represent, the question remains: when will we be treated as worthy of care?
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