Republican Rep. Jeff Van Drew (N.J.) said his party will “get killed” in the 2026 midterms if it does not address rising health care costs.
“We need to deal with [health care] now because, number one, it’s the right thing to do, just morally,” Van Drew told Maria Bartiromo Friday on Fox Business’s “Wall Street.” “Number two, we’re going to get killed [in 2026].”
As the record-breaking government shutdown continues, open enrollment for Affordable Care Act (ACA) plans began earlier this month. On average, insurers are raising premiums for next year by 26 percent, according to KFF, with the expiration of enhanced ACA subsidies at the end of this year threatening to increase them even further.
Nearly 6 in 10 respondents to an Associated Press-NORC poll conducted in mid-October were either “extremely” or “very” concerned about rising health care costs.
Van Drew, echoing President Trump, called on Senate Republicans to “forget about the filibuster” and bypass Democrats to reopen the government to deal with rising premiums. Only then, he said, can Republicans devise a “good, solid, thorough replacement” for the ACA.
The New Jersey Republican’s comments come days after Democrats Abigail Spanberger and Mikie Sherrill won the Virginia and New Jersey gubernatorial races, respectively. Meanwhile, Zohran Mamdani was elected the next mayor of New York City.
In all three races, the Democratic candidates focused on affordability. Van Drew said he believes that if the GOP does not do the same, starting with health care, then the party will be punished at the ballot box next November.
“It’s about winning, we have to win the midterms,” he said. “It’s going to be a hell of hard thing to do, and if people are just struggling with their healthcare, it’s not going to help us. So, we have that responsibility, we should deal with it.”
