Premiums Will Skyrocket. Ciscomani Made Sure of It.

Congress went home for the holidays knowing Affordable Care Act tax credits were about to expire. Millions of Americans are about to see their health insurance premiums spike starting January 1.

Republicans decided that was just fine.

Trump Said the Quiet Part Out Loud

Asked whether he would intervene to extend the subsidies, Donald Trump shrugged. “I don’t know why we have to extend,” he said, while acknowledging premiums would “skyrocket.” The Grinch-in-Chief wasn’t wrong. He was just uninterested.

By the time Trump said it, the damage was already scheduled. The lie was no longer necessary.

When cruelty is locked in, honesty becomes cheap.

Mike Johnson Ran the Clock

House Speaker Mike Johnson didn’t need to hold a vote against extending the subsidies. He just needed to let the clock run out. A discharge petition to force a vote has enough signatures, but Mike “The Human Snooze Button” Johnson announced it would be delayed until January, after the credits expire, after insurers lock in higher rates, after families get hit with renewal notices they can’t afford.

Delay became policy. Recess became cover.

Ciscomani Knew. Then He Went Silent.

Juan Ciscomani knew exactly what would happen. He previously acknowledged that letting the credits expire would cost Arizonans thousands of dollars a year. He even co-sponsored a bill to extend them.

Then it mattered.

“Wrong Way Juan” voted for a GOP health care bill that did not extend the credits. He refused to sign the discharge petition that could have forced a vote on the ACA subsidy extension. When asked why, his office went silent. Juan Ciscomani had plenty to say when support was hypothetical and nothing to say when action carried risk.

Premiums can look better on paper while coverage gets worse in real life. CBO says that’s exactly what the Trumpublican bill does.

No grand conspiracy. Just everyone playing their role.

The damage still lands on time.

Juan Ciscomani represents a district he’s never won by a few measly points. He knew what would happen. He chose silence anyway.

And accountability comes due.