Twenty-six Democrat representatives urged Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) to extend Obamacare subsidies and “health equity” in the Inflation Reduction Act. 

On November 1st, open enrollment begins for Obamacare’s health insurance exchanges. Forbes reported that “in Obamacare’s first six years, average individual premiums more than doubled.” But to make matters even worse, a study from the Kaiser Family Foundation estimates that the average price of individual premiums will increase by an additional 10 percent in 2023.

A group of 26 Democrat representatives urged Schumer and Pelosi to include Obamacare subsidies in the Inflation Reduction Act.

“Thanks to the enhanced advance premium tax credits in the American Rescue Plan Act, individuals and families have seen their health care costs decrease substantially,” the members of Congress remarked in a May 23rd letter to Schumer and Pelosi.

They went on to contend, “Rather than let these policies expire, we must extend them and make them a reliable feature of our health coverage system.”

“The expanded advance premium tax credits have also been essential in advancing health equity,” the letter also read.

“Health equity” is a phrase used by the American left to camouflage a push toward a redistribution-oriented system that provides medical care to persons based on race rather than need.

The 26 Democrats who signed the letter are:

Rep. Lauren Underwood (D-IL)

Rep. Cindy Axne (D-IA)

Rep. Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. (D-GA)

Rep. Matt Cartwright (D-PA)

Rep. Joe Courtney (D-CT)

Rep. Angie Craig (D-MN)

Rep. Sharice L. Davids (D-KS)

Rep. Bill Foster (D-IL)

Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ)

Rep. Josh Harder (D-CA)

Rep. Jahana Hayes (D-CT)

Rep. Steven Horsford (D-NV)

Rep. Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA)

Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH)

Rep. Daniel T. Kildee (D-MI)

Rep. Andy Kim (D-NJ)

Rep. Susie Lee (D-NV)

Rep. Mike Levin (D-CA)

Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-NJ)

Rep. Kathy Manning (D-NC)

Rep. Chris Pappas (D-NH)

Rep. Kim Schrier, M.D. (D-WA)

Rep. Abigail D. Spanberger (D-VA)

Rep. Dina Titus (D-NV)

Rep. Jennifer Wexton (D-VA)

Rep. Susan Wild (D-PA)

The letter came days after the National Academy of State Health Policy (NASHP) held an event in Washington, DC with, at minimum, “nearly a dozen” heads of state-based insurance agencies, which opted to run their own insurance marketplaces to sell” Affordable Care Act plans “instead of using the federal HealthCare.gov platform.”

The meeting was intended to “facilitate meetings with federal officials and congressional staff.”

Breitbart News previously reported that NASHP, which hosted the meeting, is one of the organizations behind the push for “health equity,” a movement to embed racial preferences and critical race theory in the healthcare system.

The letter from the members of Congress added that the American Rescue Plan provided “historic advances” in health equity.

“We will be able to tell our grandchildren that, at long last, Democrats ensured universal eligibility for health coverage in the United States,” the 26 Democrats concluded.

Spencer Lindquist is a reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter @SpencerLndqst and reach out at slindquist@breitbart.com.

Breccan F. Thies is a reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow him on Twitter @BreccanFThies.