U.S. Rep Eric Sorensen advocated for an extension of Obamacare subsidies and other ways to reduce health care costs for consumers during a visit Tuesday to Carle BroMenn Medical Center in Normal.
Sorensen, a second-term Democrat who represents much of central and northwestern Illinois, toured the hospital with administrators and State Rep. Sharon Chung as Congress approaches an expected vote on the Affordable Care Act.
The fight over the extension of the health care subsidies was a key factor in the longest government shutdown in history. Democrats wanted them extended and accepted a pledge from Republican leadership to schedule a vote soon.
“It is 100% essential that we stand up because we’re going to have too many people in our community that are going to fall through the cracks, and they are going to end up in the emergency department and that is not health care,” Sorensen said at a news conference.
The extension of the subsidies, which were included in the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, are set to expire at the end of the year, raising concern that healthcare premiums will skyrocket.
Sorensen dismissed an idea raised by the chair of the U.S. Senate Health Committee, Republican Bill Cassidy, to shift the money from the subsidies to health savings accounts for consumers.
“If you experience a diagnosis of cancer, what good is the $3,000 you have in a health savings account?” Sorensen asked.
The Congressional Budget Office estimates extending the subsidies would add $350 billion to the deficit from 2026 to 2035. Sorensen said he supports eliminating any waste, fraud or abuse in the system, but argued the funding is essential.
“Health care is not inexpensive, but also what is the expense and the value of a lost life,” he said.
Chung, a Democrat from Bloomington, added she’s pushing to lower prescription drug costs through the federal 340B program. The bill, which, failed in the Illinois House during the fall veto session, would close loopholes that have enabled drug makers to avoid providing discount medications to hospitals in underserved and rural areas.
“I’ve been firmly on the site of getting this passed. [With] some of my [Illinois House] colleagues, it kind of became controversial. I think honestly, it’s because Big Pharma came in and really muddied the waters,” Chung said.
‘Unlawful orders’
Sorensen serves on the House Armed Services Committee that includes four members — and two from the Senate Armed Forces Committee — who appeared in a recent video urging military and intelligence personnel not to follow unlawful orders.
Sorensen said he’s not aware of any illegal orders being issued by Trump, but added, “look at the potential that we have here,” referring to National Guard troop deployments to Chicago and other U.S. cities.
“We do need to make sure that those folks who have taken that oath to serve and to protect the Constitution in the United States, that they are conflicted [if asked to perform an illegal order],” he said.
U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Arizona, a retired Navy captain and one of the lawmakers included in the video, is now under investigation by the Pentagon.
Sorensen also posted a video to his social media in which he calls on his Republican colleagues to condemn Trump for saying the video amounted to sedition and that lawmakers in the video should be arrested.
Condemning socialism
Sorensen was among the 86 House Democrats who backed a bipartisan resolution that “condemns the horrors of socialism.”
He described the nonbinding resolution as a Republican ploy to generate attack ad material against any Democrat who voted no.
“I am a fighter for Medicare and for Medicaid. I am a supporter of our police and our fire and making sure that our roads are taken care of, that our schools are funded and that Society Security remains essential for people. When you talk about what I’m for, the record speaks for itself,” he said.
Sorensen noted the vote was called the same day New York City mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, an avowed Democratic socialist, visited Trump at the White House.
Epstein files
Sorensen suggested Trump’s flip to back the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files may be a sign he’s working a way to keep the files from being made public — despite signing the measure into law following a near-unanimous vote last week.
“I worry that we are never going to see the inside of that file,” Sorensen said.
Ukraine
Europe is raising concerns the proposed U.S. peace plan for Ukraine is too favorable toward Russia as the three-year war continues.
Sorensen said he remains committed to funding Ukraine military support and said Ukraine should not agree to a deal that surrenders territory or its ability to join NATO.
“Ukraine should be able to control its own borders that they have had for neatly 40 years, and we need to make sure they have the ability to defend themselves going forward,” he said.
