The deal to end the government shutdown did not include an extension of health care subsidies that keep coverage affordable for people who buy insurance through the federal Marketplace. While Senate leadership agreed to hold a separate vote on legislation to extend enhanced premium tax credits in December, a bipartisan deal appears unlikely. The Washington Post’s team reports:
With time dwindling, Senate Democrats still haven’t released their plan, which would extend the subsidies for an unknown duration, and House Democrats are pushing for a three-year extension. But it’s clear there are not enough Senate Republicans willing to support any extension, especially without significant changes to address GOP concerns about fraud and whether subsidized plans will cover abortion.
More than 24 million Americans, including 292,994 Louisianans, will face skyrocketing premium costs starting in January. A Louisiana family of four with two adults in their 40s earning $100,000 who buy coverage through the federal Marketplace would pay $307 more per month.
Immigration crackdown begins in New Orleans
The Department of Homeland Security announced on Wednesday that it has begun major immigration enforcement operations in the New Orleans region. Verite News’ Bobbi-Jeanne Misick spoke with Brandon Lee of the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, who explained what locals can expect based on Chicago’s recent experience:
Lee said the Chicago area operation felt like a testing ground for immigration enforcement agents to figure out just how “brazen” they could be in stirring up fears among residents and allegedly pushing past legal limitations on how they could conduct themselves. … “There was really no distinction between the city and suburbs. Any area that they perceived as having a concentration of immigrants or any place where they thought immigrants might gather or even be present outdoors is where they would go” Lee said.
The New York Times’ Shannon Sims and Rick Rojas, reporting from Kenner, explain how life has changed for immigrant families living in the New Orleans suburb:
At one Mexican restaurant, the family who owns it has a new routine at closing time. Cesar, 50, pushes aside tables and drags out mattresses to sleep on rather than risk being pulled over on the way home. His daughter, Ximena, 19, closes the blinds. His wife, Sandra, 49, drapes a colorful cloth over the front door. They also keep close watch on a live feed from a camera perched over the back door. “That way we can see if a truck pulls up that we don’t know, because it could be ICE,” said Cesar, who found his way to Kenner from Mexico after Hurricane Katrina. … “We lived through hurricanes and tornadoes and Covid,” Ximena said, “but nothing compares to the fear we feel now.”
SNAP resumes, but long-term threats remain
The government shutdown ended last month, and with it the back-and-forth funding tussle over monthly federal food assistance benefits. But long-term barriers remain that will make it harder for families to access the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. KFF’s team explains how expanded work reporting requirements, which were included in the harmful federal megabill, pose a long-term threat to SNAP:
Many adult SNAP recipients under 55 already needed to meet work requirements before the One Big Beautiful Bill Act became law. Now, for the first time, adults ages 55 to 64 and parents whose children are all 14 or older must document 80 hours of work or other qualifying activities per month. The new law also removes exemptions for veterans, homeless people, and former foster care youths, like [Alejandro] Santillan-Garcia, that had been in place since 2023.
Work reporting requirements will not increase employment, while creating new administrative headaches for states and paperwork burdens for recipients:
Even when adhering to the work rules, people often report challenges uploading documents and getting their benefits processed by overwhelmed state systems. In a survey of SNAP participants, about 1 in 8 adults reported having lost food benefits because they had problems filing their paperwork, according to the Urban Institute. Some enrollees have been dropped from aid as a result of state errors and staffing shortfalls.
A new issue brief from Invest in Louisiana explains how the federal megabill will have devastating impacts on Louisiana families who rely on SNAP to help put food on the table.
Rural health care hinges on high-speed broadband
The federal megabill includes a $50 billion fund to address rural health issues. A key pillar of this effort is based on expanding access to medical care through online telehealth services. But as Shawn Daugherty of HR&A Advisors explains in a guest column for Route Fifty, this effort will be impossible without high-speed broadband internet:
The issue is simple. No internet means both patients and providers can’t access electronic health records, remote patient monitoring, or participate in telehealth appointments. When rural families must drive to library parking lots to catch a Wi-Fi signal, virtual care isn’t an option — it’s an impossibility. Research shows that telehealth reduces hospital readmissions and improves follow-up appointment adherence, but these benefits evaporate without reliable connectivity.
Reality check: The $50 billion fund won’t be enough to offset the megabill’s estimated $137 billion cut to federal Medicaid spending in rural areas over the next decade.
Number of the Day
354,464 – Number of Louisiana children who received food aid in October through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. (Source: Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services via PAR)