As the government shutdown grinds on, the questions being asked of the Donald Trump administration are getting more and more challenging. For instance, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt was recently asked if, in line with Trump’s cuts, undocumented people who go to the ER should first be met with an immigration status check before treatment. Leavitt at first sidestepped, but then called out undocumented people’s supposed “complete abuse” of the American healthcare system.
This government shutdown will define what Americans understand Republicans’ and Democrats’ approaches to healthcare to be for a long time — especially in the short term, with the midterm elections slowly creeping up. For the Democrats, this is about tax benefits for people who buy healthcare plans from the Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare.
