WSJ Opinion: Potomac Watch The Shutdown Stakes, as Schumer Claims a 'Looming Healthcare Crisis'
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Oct 1, 2025 Kate Batchelder-Odell, an editorial board member at The Wall Street Journal focused on policy and strategy, and Alicia Finley, a health-care policy columnist, discuss the brewing government shutdown. They analyze the political implications of Senate negotiations and Schumer's challenge to Republicans about extending pandemic-era Obamacare subsidies. The conversation dives into the potential market distortions created by expanded subsidies, the impact on employer coverage, and the broader implications for health-care policies amidst a shutdown.
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Shutdowns Furlough Workers With Little Savings
- Government shutdowns furlough many workers while essential staff keep working without pay during the pause.
- Furloughed employees generally receive back pay after the shutdown, so shutdowns produce little real savings.
Democrats Borrow Old Shutdown Tactics
- Kate Batchelder-Odell recalls past shutdowns where Republicans used shutdowns to fight Obamacare.
- She notes Democrats have now imported that playbook, but she doubts it will work for them this time.
Pandemic Subsidies Became Political Leverage
- Democrats are pushing to extend pandemic-era enhanced Obamacare subsidies as leverage in the shutdown.
- These subsidies were temporary benefits from the 2021 relief law that Democrats later extended through 2025 in the Inflation Reduction Act.