WA healthcare unions: Democrats must hold the line

Unless Congress acts, millions of working people will see their health insurance costs skyrocket and millions more will be forced to go without coverage altogether. The consequences will be devastating for working families.

SEATTLE, WA (October 23, 2025) — Washingtonians looking for health insurance on the state exchange logged in to see estimated premium increases in the double digits this week, with the cost of insurance slated to sharply rise in 2026. That’s because the Republican politicians in power in D.C. so far refuse to come to the table to talk health care costs and end the federal government shutdown.

Affordable Care Act (ACA) premium subsidies that help working families afford health insurance purchased on the state marketplace are slated to expire at the end of this year unless Congress acts. The Washington Health Benefit Exchange estimates more than 216,000 people in Washington who get coverage through the ACA marketplace have been eligible for the tax credits. Nationally, experts estimate premium costs will more than double if subsidies expire, pricing millions of families out of health insurance. In Washington, the state estimates 80,000 people won’t be able to afford the cost increases and will enter 2026 without health insurance. Rural areas will be hit hardest, with some regions seeing premium hikes of 80% to 90%, per the Washington State Nurses Association.

“This shutdown could have been avoided — and it can be resolved — by protecting access to care,” said WSNA Executive Director David Keepnews, PhD, JD, RN, FAAN.

Disastrous a situation as this is, it’s only part of the harm Republicans are visiting on working families. H.R. 1, the so-called “Big, Beautiful Bill” passed this summer, guts $1.1 trillion from Medicaid and ACA marketplaces. Experts estimate roughly 15 million working people will lose coverage in the coming years as a result of these cuts, included in a bill that gives massive tax breaks to the ultrawealthy while raising costs for working people.

What will this mean for our healthcare system? Nothing good. People will still get sick and need care — with funding for programs that support nutrition and children’s’ health threatened, people may even get sicker more often.

Frontline healthcare workers, who know what this will mean for working families they care for, are sounding the alarm.

“We need to stop President Trump and Congressional Republican’s relentless drive to increase everyday people’s health care costs. If they are allowed to increase health insurance premiums, with the sole interest of granting massive tax cuts for billionaires, ordinary people who are already struggling will simply drop their coverage altogether,” said Jacob Kostecka, who works as a Registered Nurse at Providence St Peter Hospital and is a leader in his union, UFCW 3000. “This will result in what could have been minor issues solved by routine primary care becoming major events at an emergency room, potentially requiring prolonged hospitalization, and leading to ever increasing burdensome medical debt that families simply cannot afford. This is bad policy for everyone except billionaires.” 

Ultimately, hospitals and clinics will absorb and pass along billions in unpaid care costs, driving up premiums for everyone. 

“For our members, higher insurance premiums could mean smaller raises, fewer resources on the job, and more stress at home,” said OPEIU Local 8 Business Manager Corinne Cosentino. “It means shifting the burden of a broken system on the backs of working people. But it’s not abstract – we see it at the dinner table.”

AFL-CIO analysis estimates 179 million people with job-based insurance could see their health care costs rise as much as $485 a year, nearly a $2,000 increase for a working family of four. Beyond the pain felt by working families unable to afford health care, the AFL-CIO estimates these cuts will cause more than 600,000 healthcare workers to lose their jobs.

“As the leader of one of the largest healthcare unions in Washington state, I see first-hand how rising healthcare costs hurt patients, disrupt caregivers’ ability to do their jobs to the best of their ability, and cause harm to entire communities,” said Jane Hopkins, RN, and president of SEIU Healthcare 1199NW. “When insurance premiums and out-of-pocket healthcare costs skyrocket, it puts patient care at risk, it affects healthcare workers’ working conditions, and forces tough choices around access to care.”

A sign carried by a SEIU Healthcare 1199NW member at a picket in May. Photo: SEIU 1199NW

“We simply can’t afford to move backward on access to health care,” said WSNA President Justin Gill, DNP, RN, ARNP.

Open enrollment to select a plan on the exchange starts in nine days, on November 1. The crisis is here, now. Every day Republicans dig in their heels is one more day of uncertainty, anxiety, and frustration for working families already budgeting just to afford the basics.

“Whether you’re retired or working and struggling to make ends meet and raise a family, every American deserves a fair shot at affordable healthcare,” said IAM 751 President Jon Holden. “Taking care of your health shouldn’t be a luxury. We need healthcare that’s affordable, reliable, and protects families instead of putting them deeper in debt. The choice by the current administration to cut federal funds is going to negatively impact all Americans, whether through increased premiums or reduced access to healthcare services in their communities.”

“Republicans have shut down the government rather than make healthcare affordable for working families, in addition to using this moment to attack the federal workforce and their unions,” said Hopkins. “Members of SEIU Healthcare 1199NW are standing alongside our labor family, united and ready to hold the line to protect access to care, demand fair wages, and ensure working people, not billionaires, set the priorities in this country. We’re organizing, building solidarity, and keeping pressure on Congress to put people over profits.”

As the shutdown drags on, it’s past time for Congressional Republicans to face facts.

“The rising cost of healthcare didn’t have to happen,” said Holden. “Working people in this state and across this country are already stretched thin, and they deserve better.”

It is an undeniable reality that many working families in this country pay enormous health care costs. It is undeniable those costs are set to increase even further. This is a crisis that will inevitably have to be addressed — it is the most pressing issue for voters across party lines, more than housing, jobs, immigration, or crime. The GOP’s refusal to even have a conversation is doing nothing but prolonging the pain of a federal shutdown, punishing working people in every state.