The ACA Subsidy Lie: What the Shutdown Revealed About a Broken System
“And when Jesus was come into Peter’s house, He saw his wife’s mother laid, and sick of a fever. And He touched her hand, and the fever left her: and she arose, and ministered unto them.” Matthew 8:14-15 (KJV)
DahTruth Summary
A forty-three day shutdown, billions in taxpayer-funded subsidies, soaring insurance company profits, and an ACA marketplace filled with fraud. Democrats defended the system. Republicans exposed the cracks. And for the first time, the American public finally saw the truth. This is not about division. This is about honesty, reform, and the courage to demand a healthcare system that puts people first.
When Healthcare Becomes Personal
Healthcare is one of the most sacred battles a family can face, and I have lived through it more than once. I grew up with healthcare. My mother had it, and I can still see myself sitting quietly beside her while she received cancer treatments. Later in life, my husband had healthcare too, and although I felt the doctors pulled back once they realized his life expectancy and quality of life were slipping away, we never had to fight for access. I fought for him with everything I had, even though nothing I said or did could change the outcome God had already written.
Now I have coverage, and I pray it remains available when I retire. So when I raise questions about the ACA marketplace, fraud, and subsidies, I am not speaking from privilege or detachment. I am speaking as a woman who has lived the cost of illness and the blessing of care.
There is a moment in Scripture that stays with me and always rises to the surface when I reflect on healthcare. In Matthew 8:14–15 we are told, “When Jesus came into Peter’s house, He saw Peter’s mother-in-law lying in bed with a fever. He touched her hand and the fever left her, and she got up and began to serve Him.” No forms. No billing codes. No bronze, silver, gold, or platinum tiers. No premiums or deductibles. Just compassion and restoration. It reminds me how far our system has drifted from the simple call to care for one another.
The Facebook Fight That Opened My Eyes Again
Last week I shared a chart on Facebook showing how insurance company profits skyrocketed after Obamacare. I asked whether the real reason some people oppose universal healthcare might have more to do with fraud, cost, and uneven access than the racial explanations we hear every day.
Almost instantly someone replied that the only reason “they” do not want universal healthcare is because they do not want Black people to have it. That response made me pause. It reminded me how often we as ADOS turn every issue into race because generational trauma has trained us to. We do it because our grandparents lived through real danger. But we are not living in 1960 anymore. Today’s crisis is not only about race. Some of it is class. Some of it is structure. And some of it is a healthcare system that has become profitable for everyone except the patient.
Why the Shutdown Really Happened
When the government shut down for forty-three days, we were told it happened because Republicans were heartless and refused to protect the vulnerable. That is not the truth. The shutdown happened because Democrats refused to acknowledge the fraud inside the ACA marketplace. They would not accept the smallest reforms. They insisted the subsidies be extended exactly as they were, with no accountability.
To maintain that position, Democrats were willing to let federal workers go without pay. They were willing to let SNAP families panic. They were willing to let the economy tremble. They protected a system that primarily benefits able-bodied, working-age adults who are self-employed or working for small businesses.
Republicans, for all their faults, at least acknowledged the truth. They pointed to the phantom enrollees, the unauthorized switches, the fraudulent brokers, and the billions in improper payments. They held their ground and refused to extend subsidies unless the system was fixed first. For that, I give them credit.
And I want to say something that may not be popular. I am glad the shutdown happened. Not because I wanted federal workers to suffer or wanted families to wonder about their SNAP benefits. I am glad because sometimes the only way to expose a problem this deep is for it to reach a breaking point. The shutdown forced the country to confront disparities between basic and premium plans. It exposed how people were being enrolled without their knowledge. It pulled the truth into the light.
Democrats may have meant their actions for political gain, but I believe God used it for good. Now the nation is finally ready to talk about reform.
Who the ACA Really Helps
Congress rarely tells the truth about who receives ACA subsidies. Millions of self-employed individuals use the marketplace, including farmers, barbers, consultants, fitness trainers, and hairdressers. Many earn enough to afford private insurance but qualify for subsidies because of how taxable income is calculated.
I do not begrudge these individuals. My issue is with a political narrative that uses the poor and elderly as shields to defend a system that largely benefits another group entirely.
The Real Winner: Insurance Companies
Taxpayer-funded ACA subsidies do not go to doctors or clinics. They go directly to insurance companies. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that extending enhanced subsidies will cost taxpayers three hundred fifty billion dollars over ten years. Insurance companies profit whether patients ever use the coverage or not.
The Fraud No One Wants to Discuss
Fraud is the most disturbing part. It is the part politicians, insurers, and even some beneficiaries pretend not to see. Nineteen percent of enrollees in 2021 filed no medical claims. By 2024 that number rose to thirty-five percent. Millions of people never used their plans and some did not know they were enrolled at all.
Yet subsidies were paid on their behalf.
In one year, improper enrollments cost taxpayers twenty-seven billion dollars. Brokers ran fraud rings worth hundreds of millions. Tens of thousands of people filed complaints about unauthorized switches. And through it all, insurance companies collected premiums for coverage that was never used.
This is the system Democrats shut down the government to protect.
A Breaking Point the Country Could No Longer Ignore
I want to be clear before I go further. Violence is never the answer. Luigi Magine’s attack on the United Healthcare CEO was wrong. A man lost his life and a young man threw away his future in a moment he can never take back. There is no justification for that and no celebration in it. The courts will address it.
But as awful as the act was, the public reaction revealed something the country had been refusing to see. It exposed the level of despair, frustration, and emotional pressure building beneath a healthcare system that is failing millions. It showed how close to the edge people have been pushed. When Luigi acted, it was like a match hitting dry grass. The outrage, the hearings, the media storm, and the sudden willingness of lawmakers to address insurance company abuses all came because people realized the system had reached a boiling point.
Families were drowning under medical bills. People were being dropped from coverage. Fraud was spiraling. And insurance companies were posting record profits.
It never should have taken a tragedy to make the nation pay attention. But that one terrible moment forced the truth into the open. It exposed a pressure point that had been growing for years. People were breaking under a system that did not care whether they lived, died, or disappeared into paperwork.
The Truth Neither Party Wants to Admit
The truth makes both parties uncomfortable. Democrats manipulate compassion by using the sick and elderly as shields to defend a system that enriches corporations. Republicans manipulate resentment by suggesting every ACA enrollee is unwilling to work. Meanwhile, insurance companies profit from both narratives.
Families like mine, who have walked through cancer, illness, and loss, are left praying the coverage we rely on will exist when we need it most.
This Is Not About Race
The Facebook exchange reminded me how quickly race becomes the default explanation. But the data tells a different story. Most ACA growth since 2020 happened in red states like Texas, Mississippi, Tennessee, Louisiana, and Georgia. Many of the new enrollees are white rural Americans struggling to survive.
This is not a race issue. It is a class issue and a structural issue. Those who can afford higher premiums receive better benefits. Those who cannot are left with basic coverage that barely meets their needs.
What We Actually Need
We need standard coverage for everyone so all Americans receive the same quality of care. Premiums can adjust based on income, but care should not. We need congressional oversight to prevent unchecked premium increases while still allowing insurers to profit within limits. Fraud must be addressed aggressively with real verification and accountability. And preexisting conditions must remain protected without limits.
The Bottom Line
I am tired of being called racist for asking why billions in taxpayer dollars are flowing into insurance company profits. I am tired of Democrats pretending they are defending the vulnerable while avoiding the fraud in front of them. I am tired of Republicans pretending every enrollee is lazy while ignoring the realities of self-employment. And I am tired of watching a healthcare system buckle under a weight it was never designed to carry.
This is not about race. It is about fairness. It is about truth. And it is about demanding a healthcare system that protects people instead of enriching corporations.
America deserves better. And America deserves the truth.
