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Federal government shutdown enters 12th day as healthcare costs fuel congressional impasse

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The federal government entered its 12th day of shutdown Sunday, leaving millions of federal workers without pay as Congress remains deadlocked over spending legislation.

  • The government shutdown is in its 12th day, with federal workers unpaid as Congress remains divided over healthcare spending.
  • Lawmakers are clashing over the ACA, with Democrats rejecting GOP plans they say would cut coverage and raise costs.
  • Citizens warn the standoff will raise premiums and urge leaders to stop using healthcare as a political bargaining chip.

WATCH: FEDERAL GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN IMPACTS ON NEIGHBORS

Federal government shutdown enters 12th day as healthcare costs fuel congressional impasse

Healthcare costs have emerged as a central issue in the Washington impasse, with both parties citing concerns about the Affordable Care Act's future.

"This shutdown is harmful, it is expensive, it was avoidable," said Ashley Meyers, a Lansing nurse who opposes using healthcare as a political bargaining chip.

"Personally I don't like when we are playing politics with healthcare," Meyers said.

Meyers warned that eliminating ACA tax cuts would create widespread financial consequences for Americans.

"Our premiums will go up because of this, it's just going to be a domino effect," Meyers said.

Republican Congressman Tom Barrett said the House has attempted to resolve the shutdown through compromise legislation.

"I can tell you in the House of Representatives we passed what we called a clean continuous resolution where we took our existing, current funding levels and carried them over," Barrett said.

Despite Republican control of all branches of government, the party needs Democratic support to advance spending bills. Democratic U.S. Congressman Hakeem Jeffries has rejected Republican proposals.

"We are not going to support a partisan Republican spending bill that continues to gut the health care of everyday Americans," Jeffries said.

Barrett acknowledged the need to address healthcare affordability while criticizing the shutdown strategy.

"I do think we need to address the cost of healthcare in America for sure but I don't think we need to take the federal government hostage in the meantime for something unrelated," Barrett said.

Meyers called on lawmakers to consider the real-world impact of their decisions.

"I'm just asking that they take us seriously and they listen to the people it'll actually affect," Meyers said.

Open enrollment for ACA coverage begins November 1.

This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.

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