Tag: insurance

Democrats Who Let Covid-Era Child Tax Credits Expire Now Cry ‘Crisis’ Over Lapsing Obamacare Giveaway

ontrary to the media’s blaring headlines about “the health care crisis,” there’s another question the press should answer but won’t. To wit: Why is it only a “crisis” when a Covid-era entitlement expires on Republicans’ watch?

While Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., eggs on the press by pontificating about a “health care crisis” caused by the recent expiration of enhanced Obamacare subsidies, he and his colleagues selectively and cynically ignore the recent past. The same Senate Democrats who now call the lapse of enhanced Obamacare subsidies a “crisis” let a far larger Covid-era program expire on their own party’s watch with barely a peep of objection.

Covid-era Child Tax Credit

In 2021, the American Rescue Plan Act, enacted in the Biden administration’s opening months, significantly expanded the child tax credit. The law increased the maximum available credit from $2,000 per child to $3,600 per child under age 6, and $3,000 for other kids under age 18. It also made the credit fully refundable for families with no income tax liability and provided for periodic monthly disbursements to beneficiaries. But fiscal and political constraints meant that the legislation enhanced the child tax credit for 2021 only.

House Democrats included a one-year extension of the enhanced child tax credit in their so-called Build Back Better legislation, which they passed in November 2021. But objections from Sen. Joe Manchin to the costly House bill meant Schumer spent months negotiating a slimmed-down package with the West Virginia Democrat.

Senate Democrats Oppose an Extension

When that smaller package came to the Senate floor in August 2022 without an extension of the enhanced child tax credit, Socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont offered an amendment extending the program for four years, funded by a corporate tax hike. All of Sanders’ Senate colleagues present that day, including all Senate Democrats, voted against his amendment, with two not voting.

On the Senate floor, Sens. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, and Michael Bennet, D-Colo., both claimed they supported an extension but could not vote for Sanders’ amendment for fear it would kill the entire bill. Sanders responded with a reasonable enough question: Even if Manchin opposed his amendment, “Why would … getting 48 votes on this amendment bring the overall bill down?” He received no substantive reply.

The enhanced child tax credit that expired on Democrats’ watch had a far bigger effect than the enhanced Obamacare subsidies. Internal Revenue Service data shows that in 2021, just under 62 million children received child tax credit payments, nearly triple the roughly 21 million Americans with subsidized Obamacare coverage. The child tax credit also had a larger fiscal consequence; a permanent extension would have cost nearly $1.6 trillion over ten years, or more than four times as much as a $350 billion permanent revival of the enhanced Obamacare subsidies.

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“Congress Is BOUGHT AND PAID FOR!” — Rep. Tim Burchett ERUPTS After 17 “GUTLESS” GOP Members Join Democrats to Hand BILLIONS to Big Insurance Under Obamacare

During a fiery appearance on The Matt Gaetz Show, Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN) unleashed a blistering indictment of Washington corruption.

The latest betrayal comes as 17 “gutless” House Republicans crossed the aisle to join Democrats in a move that effectively hands billions of taxpayer dollars to massive insurance companies under the umbrella of Obamacare, a system Republicans have campaigned on repealing for over a decade.

On Thursday, the House of Representatives voted 230 to 196 to extend expired Obamacare subsidies for three years.

17 defiant Republicans joined the Democrats and voted in favor of the three-year extension.

  • Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA)
  • Mike Lawler (R-NY)
  • Rob Bresnahan (R-PA)
  • Ryan Mackenzie (R-PA)
  • Mike Carey (R-OH)
  • Monica De La Cruz (R-TX)
  • Andrew Garbarino (R-NY)
  • Will Hurd (R-CO)
  • Dave Joyce (R-OH)
  • Tom Kean Jr. (R-NJ)
  • Nick LaLota (R-NY)
  • Max Miller (R-OH)
  • Zach Nunn (R-IA)
  • Maria Salazar (R-FL)
  • Dave Valadao (R-CA)
  • Derrick Van Orden (R-WI)
  • Rob Wittman (R-VA)

Host Matt Gaetz pressed Burchett on why Congress can’t use reconciliation to cut spending and advance conservative priorities without begging Democrats for permission.

During the interview, Matt Gaetz questioned Burchett on the lack of progress regarding a reconciliation bill that would allow for massive spending cuts, including slashing funds currently flowing to the Taliban. Gaetz noted that while Senator John Kennedy (R-LA) has been pleading for action, the GOP leadership seems content to “beg” Democrat staffers for crumbs.

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The Balance Between Incentivizing Death and Saving the Lives of Veterans, as Hundreds of Millions Are Paid Out to Families for Their Loss

When veterans take their own lives, their families may receive financial support if the veteran was covered by Veterans’ Group Life Insurance (VGLI).

The real question isn’t whether families should receive these payments, but rather if more could be done to prevent such tragic losses without encouraging financial motives.

It’s a delicate balance to strike, and it’s an issue that deserves careful, thoughtful consideration.

A recent article from The Gateway Pundit highlighted a question posed by the Veterans’ Group Life Insurance (VGLI) program, which has raised concerns for Sonny Fleeman, a combat veteran and federal whistleblower. That is, “Is there a suicide exclusion?”

The response is, “No—claims related to suicide are not excluded.” For this reason, Fleeman contended that this might incentivize veterans to take their own lives in order to secure financial benefits for their families.

The combat veteran is not suggesting that the families of service members should be denied this financial benefit. What he previously expressed is that “the current design quietly weaponizes despair in a population already on the edge.”

His primary desire is for veterans to prioritize seeking help for their conditions rather than focusing on financial rewards for their families.

On October 28, 2025, Fleeman submitted a Freedom of Information Act request concerning VGLI death claims, suicides, and payout data. Once considered “not public interest,” the results are now in.

“Based on VA’s own totals from 1999 to 2023, 2,602 suicide-classified death claims out of 66,593 total claims—about 4%, or roughly one out of every 25—show that suicide is a meaningful and recurring share of VGLI payouts,” Fleeman told The Gateway Pundit.

“From 2004 to 2023,” he said, “those suicide-related claims accounted for more than $370 million, averaging tens of millions of dollars each year.”

The federal whistleblower emphasized that the dataset alone cannot determine whether VGLI’s experience is typical or uniquely elevated compared to private sector group life insurance.

“That requires apples-to-apples actuarial benchmarks—age and risk adjustments and comparable cause-of-death definitions—that aren’t publicly available to my knowledge,” he explained.

“Given that VGLI serves a known high-risk population and has no suicide exclusion,” Fleeman argued, “it’s reasonable to suspect the suicide share may be elevated, but confirming that is beyond me and requires independent benchmarking against private sector.”

Ultimately, he stated, it is “essential to find a solution” that prevents veterans from feeling as though the message conveyed by the policy is: “The only way to support your family is through your death.”

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Check Out Rep. McBride’s Vulgar Dismissal of Massive Obamacare Fraud

Last week, a watchdog group reported on “large-scale systemic failures” that led to massive Obamacare subsidy fraud, including the use of a single Social Security number to get subsidies for more than 70 people. The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) ran a test of fake applicants and found that “100% of fake applicants were approved by Obamacare’s marketplace as recently as late 2024. 90% of fake applicants continue to receive coverage in 2025.”

The report also found no mechanism for income verification, meaning millions of subsidies were going to people who aren’t poor or in need. It all spells massive waste. You would think Democrats would take that seriously, right?

Apparently not.

Rep. Tim McBride (D-DE) seems to think such studies are “bulls**t,” and said as much as he’s pushing to extend Obamacare programs.

“I don’t think the American people feel that it’s failed the American people,” McBride said. “That ‘study’…sounds like bullsh**t…sounds like a bulls**t study with a bullsh**t methodology,” he continued. “Sounds like the methodology is pretty questionable.”

When the study’s reporting was shown, McBride doubled down. “First of all, that’s not what that says, and you’ve mischaracterized what the report says. But that’s not what it says. It does not say there’s a 90 percent fraud rate.”

Despite the reporter’s push on the subject, McBride kept insisting that Obamacare is fine. “If they [Speaker Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune] want to work with us and add in measures around verification for the ACA tax credits, we’re ready to negotiate,” McBride said.

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The unaffordable Affordable Care Act

The Affordable Care Act—Obamacare—was passed without a single Republican vote, and since, Democrats have been doing their worst to try to convince the public Republicans are to blame for it. That’s because it was never affordable and has required untold billions to prop it up. One might blame John McCain, who was the sole Republican, Trump Derangement Syndrome, vote that prevented repeal of Obamacare.

Americans have eventually tumbled to Obamacare’s reality: the insurance is outlandishly expensive, costs far too much for miserly benefits, and is breaking the taxpayer bank. Now, in a revelation that surprises no one, it’s rife with fraud too.  

The report said insurance companies collected $94 million for people who were dead, one piece of what the Congressional Budget Office estimates to be $27 billion in annual Obamacare fraud, according to the National Pulse.

The GAO report said 58,000 Social Security numbers linked to advanced premium tax credits matched numbers in the Social Security death data. More than 7,000 individuals were found to have died before their coverage even began.

In one case, one Social Security number was used to receive 125 insurance policies covering 26,000 days — the equivalent of 71 years of coverage.

In acts of unusual competence, the GAO sent in fake applications without any of the usual documentation necessary for social security numbers, income and citizenship, and again, to no one’s surprise, were approved for Obamacare subsidies in 2024 and 2025.

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VA’s Veterans’ Group Life Insurance Pays Out on Suicide, Incentivizing Death Then Calling the Data ‘Not Public Interest’

A troubling discovery has surfaced for veterans, one that says their life insurance can read like a financial plan for their own death. As for the VA’s reaction, one veteran claims it has been nothing but “silence and stonewalling.”

The Gateway Pundit spoke to Fleeman, who explained that he is referring to Veterans’ Group Life Insurance (VGLI), the program the government sells as financial security for former service members. He spoke solely in his personal capacity, emphasizing that his views are his own and do not represent the views or official positions of the U.S. Government, the United States military, the Department of Veterans Affairs, or any other organization with which he is or has been affiliated.

Using the VA’s comparison worksheet for VGLI, Fleeman pointed out his specific concern. VGLI asks, “Is there a suicide exclusion?”  And according to what the insurance program offers, “No – suicide claims are not excluded.”

“Most Americans think suicide voids life insurance,” Fleeman noted. “But if you’re a veteran under VGLI, VA is telling you the opposite.” In fact, if a veteran dies by suicide while covered, the policy still pays. “Now imagine reading that when you’re behind on the mortgage and waking up every night in a cold sweat,” said Fleeman.

“This might look compassionate in a low-risk population, [but] veterans are not that population,” he pointed out. “These are people carrying blast injuries, PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder), moral injury, chronic pain, and shattered marriages.”

“VA publishes report after report acknowledging that veterans die by suicide at far higher rates than civilians. Everyone in the system knows this is one of the most vulnerable groups in the country.”

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Chinese Firm Bought Insurer For CIA Agents As Part Of Trillion Dollar Spending Spree

For years, Washington assumed that China’s outbound investment flowed mainly into developing economies hungry for infrastructure money. But as scrutiny tightens across the West, it’s becoming clear that Beijing’s financial reach extended far deeper into wealthy nations – and far earlier – than most policymakers realized.

One early warning came in 2016, when Jeff Stein, a veteran journalist covering U.S. intelligence agencies, received an unusual tip: Wright USA, a small insurer that specialized in providing liability coverage for FBI and CIA personnel, had quietly been acquired the year before by Fosun Group, a Chinese conglomerate with reported ties to Beijing’s leadership. “Someone with direct knowledge called me up and said, ‘Do you know that the insurance company that insures intelligence personnel is owned by the Chinese?’” Stein recalls. “I was astonished.”

The concern was immediate and obvious. Wright USA held personal information on some of the most sensitive employees in the federal government. The question in Washington became not what the Chinese buyer intended, but who might ultimately gain access to the data. Newly released records reviewed by the BBC indicate that Chinese state banks helped finance the acquisition, routing a $1.2 billion loan through the Cayman Islands to enable Fosun’s purchase.

Though the deal violated no U.S. laws, it triggered alarm. Stein’s story in Newsweek soon prompted a rare inquiry by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), the Treasury-led interagency panel responsible for policing foreign ownership risks. Within months, Wright USA was sold back to American owners. Neither Fosun nor Starr Wright USA, its new parent, responded to requests for comment.

High-level intelligence officials say the episode was among the cases that pushed the first Trump administration in 2018 to significantly tighten U.S. investment screening – part of a broader shift as the U.S. began rethinking a two-decade-old presumption that Chinese capital posed few national-security risks.

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Obamacare Subsidies Led to Billions in Insurer Profits, CEOs Donated to Democrats

When Democrats shut down the federal government for 42 days, millions of Americans suffered. Veterans couldn’t access services, national parks closed their gates, and federal workers went without paychecks. Nice priorities, right? But the real reason for their obstinacy wasn’t principle—it was profit.

While you weren’t looking, a massive wealth transfer was taking place. While families struggled to make ends meet during the shutdown, Democrat donors in the insurance industry were protecting their golden goose: taxpayer-funded subsidies that have made them billions. The shutdown wasn’t about healthcare—it was about keeping the money flowing to the right pockets.

From ‘Just the News’:

The 42-day federal shutdown forced by Democrats thrust the economics of Obamacare into the limelight, and exposed an uncomfortable truth: An insurance industry whose executives are increasingly liberal donors has seen its earnings soar with the injection of taxpayer-funded subsidies that propped up Barack Obama’s signature health program from collapse.

The nation’s largest health insurance companies have seen good business since Obamacare was first passed in 2010 and fully implemented in 2014. This has come in no small part because of federal government subsidies to the insurance industry, which government estimates show totaled $1.8 trillion in 2023 alone.

This is outrageous. One-point-eight TRILLION dollars. In one year. Your money, their pockets.

The evidence is damning. Since Obamacare’s implementation, the four largest health insurance companies saw their profits explode by 216%. UnitedHealth Group, which dominates the industry, experienced the most dramatic windfall. Their stock prices didn’t just beat the market—they crushed it, growing 1,032% since the law passed, compared to just 251% for the S&P 500.

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Obamacare Is A Disaster, Just As Expected

Just over 15 years ago, when the Democrat-controlled House and the Democrat-controlled Senate were debating the healthcare proposals offered by the Democrat president, nearly everyone on the political right was unified in opposition. It may well have been the last time the right was united on anything, but it was indeed unified and resolute.

Congresswoman Michelle Bachmann (MN) warned that “This monstrosity of a bill will not only destroy the private healthcare market, it will lead to massive increases in premiums and rationed care.” Congressman (and eventual vice-presidential nominee and Speaker of the House) Paul Ryan (WI) complained that “This bill is a fiscal Frankenstein. It’s a government takeover that will explode costs and kill jobs.” Senator (and Republican Leader) Mitch McConnell (KY) insisted that Americans “want reforms that lower costs, not a trillion-dollar government experiment.”

Right-leaning commentators like George Will and Charles Krauthammer agreed, not only with each other but with Republicans in Congress as well. Krauthammer, in particular, argued that President Obama’s promise to “bend the cost curve” down was pure, unadulterated, and extensively documented fantasy. National Review, much maligned among Trump supporters these days, dedicated most of an issue to exposing and forecasting Obamacare’s fiscal absurdities and the likelihood that it would result in lower quality of care, increased taxes, and exploding insurance premiums. Even the Heritage Foundation—in the news lately for purportedly exacerbating rifts in the conservative coalition—likewise agreed with everyone in the movement, insisting that Obamacare was a disaster waiting to happen and would keep none of the promises that it made, all while destroying what was good and valuable in the private insurance market.

More than a decade later, when it was clear that the system was in trouble and that only greater government intervention and spending could save it, Heritage (in the form of Robert Moffit, Edmund Haislmaier, and Nina Owcharenko Schaefer) took something of a victory lap, detailing Obamacare’s manifest failures and arguing that it was long past time to scrap the whole experiment.

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The Obamacare secret at the heart of the shutdown: insurers made billions at taxpayer expense

The 42-day federal shutdown forced by Democrats thrust the economics of Obamacare into the limelight, and exposed an uncomfortable truth: An insurance industry whose executives are increasingly liberal donors has seen its earnings soar with the injection of taxpayer-funded subsidies that propped up Barack Obama’s signature health program from collapse.

The nation’s largest health insurance companies have seen good business since Obamacare was first passed in 2010 and fully implemented in 2014. This has come in no small part because of federal government subsidies to the insurance industry, which government estimates show totaled $1.8 trillion in 2023 alone.

Those subsidies were greatly expanded by the Biden administration during the COVID-19 pandemic as an emergency measure, but Democrats have fought to keep them permanent.    

Obamacare brought health insurance companies historic profits

A Just the News analysis of public financial records from four of the nation’s largest health insurance companies found that net earnings ballooned about 216% from 2010 to 2024. UnitedHealth Group in particular, which dominates the industry with a market share of around 15%, saw the largest explosion of profits. The other three companies, Elevance, Centene, and Cigna also experienced a marked growth in net earnings after the implementation of Obamacare. 

The healthcare legislation was also a boon for these companies’ stock prices. One study found the weighted average of health insurance stock prices has grown 1,032% from 2010—when the law was passed—and 448% from 2013—the year the legislation’s key provisions were implemented. 

This performance far outstripped the most popular S&P 500 exchange-traded fund, which grew 251% and 139%, respectively, the Paragon Health Institute reported last year. ETFs are designed to track the performance of specific stock indices and, as such, generally represent average market growth.

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