Ottawa Resident Testifies Before U.S. Senate on the Urgent Need to Extend Health Care Tax Credits - Families USA Skip to Main Content
11.19.2025 / Press Release

Ottawa Resident Testifies Before U.S. Senate on the Urgent Need to Extend Health Care Tax Credits

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Ottawa residents Eileen and Barry Spickler are on Capitol Hill today testifying before a Senate Commerce subcommittee. Eileen Spickler was invited as a witness by Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) to share her family’s story of struggling to afford health insurance and benefiting from the enhanced premium tax credits that are set to expire at the end of this year.

“In 2025, we paid $109 a month and we received almost $1,200 per month in subsidies. If it weren’t for the premium tax credits, we would not have been able to afford insurance for Barry at all, and honestly, I don’t know where we’d be, or if we’d even be sitting here before you. Access to affordable health insurance is life and death for us,” wrote Spickler in her prepared statement to the committee.

Spickler will testify today, Wednesday, November 19, at 2:30 p.m. ET before the Senate Commerce, Science, and Justice Subcommittee on Aviation, Space, and Innovation. Despite the hearing’s focus on air safety, Subcommittee Ranking Member Duckworth invited Spickler to testify as a reminder of the ongoing health care affordability crisis facing millions of Americans. According to the Kansas Hospital Association, refusal to extend current tax law for enhanced premium tax credits would result in:

  • A massive 77% increase, on average, in out-of-pocket premiums for Kansans who currently receive enhanced premium tax credits;
  • A premium hike of over $2,500 per year for a Kansas family of four making $64,000 a year; and
  • A premium hike of more than $18,000 annually for a 60-year-old couple making $82,800 a year.

A September 2025 analysis by the Urban Institute and The Commonwealth Fund estimated that if the tax credits expire, Kansas’ uninsured rate would spike by 32% in 2026, resulting in the eighth-highest state increase in its uninsured rate among all 50 states next year.

Spickler is available to speak to the media upon request, and her complete opening statement is available here.

Hearing Details:

WHAT: Subcommittee Hearing titled “Flying on Empty: How Shutdowns Threaten Air Safety, Travel, and the Economy”

DATE: Wednesday, November 19, 2025

TIME: 2:30 PM EST

LOCATION: Committee Hearing Room, Russell 253

LIVESTREAM: The hearing will stream live on the Committee website and YouTube.

MEDIA INFO: Reporters wanting to attend the committee should contact their respective media gallery to RSVP.

  • Senate Daily Press: 202-224-0241 or senate_press_gallery@saa.senate.gov
  • Senate Periodical Press: 202-224-0265 or periodicals@saa.senate.gov
  • Senate Photographers: 202-224-6548 or press_photo@saa.senate.gov
  • Senate Radio/TV: 202-224-6421