Washington dysfunction is ruining the lives of millions of ordinary Americans

Financial support that Americans rely on to stay healthy and feed their families is facing tremendous uncertainty at this very moment. Regardless of the outcome of court cases and emergency rulings, Nov. 1, 2025, will go down as one of the darkest days in recent American history.

As of today, Congress and the administration are no longer providing the financial support that millions of hardworking Americans rely on to afford health care coverage and buy food. This will cause an unfathomable amount of suffering in our country. Yet as the government shutdown continues with no end in sight, nobody is home in Washington.

Our leaders are completely neglecting the American people. It is an outrage. Great nations do not allow their people to stay sick or go hungry.

I spent 30 years as a pediatrician at community health clinics across the country. I saw exactly why most Americans can’t stand our broken health care system. Far too many people have no coverage at all. Even those who do still face such incredibly high costs that some are forced to delay medical care or skip it altogether. No matter how hard my patients' families worked, many still couldn't afford care, not to mention other essentials like eggs, milk and bread.

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The government shutdown means families across America are struggling to pay bills. (iStock)

Leaders in Washington are supposed to make the system better. Instead, they are making it far worse.

More than 24 million people rely on health care coverage under the Affordable Care Act. Farmers and ranchers, small-business owners, people with disabilities and self-employed individuals all get health coverage through these plans.

For years, the federal government has provided tax credits to substantially lower the price of their health care plans, saving people an average of $800 per year.

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For working families, an extra $800 means paying your rent and buying food. Because of those tax credits, more Americans have insurance than ever before. An overwhelming majority of Americans want that support to continue.

But Congress has taken away the tax credits that American communities depend on, even as insurance premiums are soaring. If you and your family are caught up in this mess, your health care may now be unaffordable. But no help is coming.

Leaders in Washington are continuing to play games with people’s lives and weaponizing their basic needs. They have abandoned communities like yours. This is not what greatness looks like.

As leaders in Washington allow health care costs to skyrocket, they are also letting American communities go hungry.

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More than 40 million Americans rely on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The vast majority of participants are children, seniors, veterans and people with disabilities. Few programs are as effective as SNAP at reducing poverty and improving health.

Yet for the first time in the history of the program, the federal government is not paying out SNAP benefits. When some participants check their balances today, they will see zero dollars. The administration has a $5 billion emergency fund for SNAP that it is refusing to use. The risk of hunger will immediately increase. Pressure on food banks, already significant, will rise exponentially. People will legitimately wonder how to feed themselves and their families.

For working families, an extra $800 means paying your rent and buying food. Because of those tax credits, more Americans have insurance than ever before. An overwhelming majority of Americans want that support to continue.

Let’s be clear about what is happening. The president is a billionaire. Members of Congress have an average net worth about 12 times higher than the typical American. And just months after enacting legislation called the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that will cause millions of people to lose coverage, they’re taking both health care and food assistance away from millions more. It is the definition of cruelty.

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When I was a pediatrician, some of my patients lived in motel rooms because their parents couldn’t afford apartments even while working multiple jobs. Others went hungry because they didn't have enough food. That type of pain will now extend further across the country. It will affect people like Erin Jackson-Hill, an Alaska resident who works multiple jobs but can no longer afford health coverage without the tax credits. Or Casey McBlain, a single mom in Maine who relies on SNAP and will now delay paying her electric and credit card bills to feed her kids.

Hardworking Americans who play by the rules and do everything the right way should not be punished like this. Nearly all Americans agree that your health should not depend on where you live or how much money you make. But the administration and Congress have decided to take people's health care and food away.

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Helping people afford health care and food should not be a political fight. The solutions are very simple. Release the SNAP contingency reserves now to help families in dire need of food support. Congress must also work together to end this shutdown, fully fund lifesaving nutrition assistance programs and extend the tax credits that help keep Americans healthy.

Instead, leaders in Washington are continuing to play games with people’s lives and weaponizing their basic needs. They have abandoned communities like yours. This is not what greatness looks like.

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As a doctor, and an American, I am ashamed. Given the level of pain that millions of Americans are about to experience, I know that I am far from alone.