ROUNDUP: New Reporting Details How Trump’s Economic Policies Are Raising Ohioans’ Energy Costs and Ripping Away Healthcare and SNAP

ROUNDUP: New Reporting Details How Trump's Economic Policies Are Raising Ohioans' Energy Costs and Ripping Away Healthcare and SNAP

July 8, 2026

Reminder: Trump recently admitted that he doesn't think about the financial pain Americans are feeling under his economy

COLUMBUS, OH - While affordability is a top issue ahead of the November election, Trump has worked to line the pockets of his family and donors. Now, new reporting is continuing to shed light on how Ohio families are suffering under Trump and Washington Republicans' economic agenda, with Ohio losing nearly one-third of Affordable Care Act enrollees after Washington Republicans refused to extend the ACA premium tax credits and raised healthcare costs. Another new report is slamming the Trump Administration's approach that is sky-rocketing Ohioans' energy prices this summer, saying it "will make Ohioan's energy bills higher long into the future," and is "the opposite of an affordability strategy." And when it comes to the SNAP food assistance that Ohio families rely on, President Trump and Washington Republicans' budget bill, signed into law just over a year ago, made the largest cuts to SNAP in the history of the program, and means "kids are going to have less to eat," while the state braces to foot the bill for new costs without federal help.

"Trump promised to lower costs on 'day one' - Trump and Washington Republicans are breaking that promise every day, and Ohioans are going to hold them accountable for it in November," said Ohio Democratic Party Communications Director Marisa Nahem.

This reporting follows previous reporting that further emphasized the stark reality that Ohio families face as they have paid approximately "$2,175 more for gas, utilities and groceries and thousands of dollars more in health insurance premiums for those on the ACA marketplace since January 2025 due to federal policies enacted during President Donald Trump's second term." Recent Cook Political Report analysis also emphasized that thanks to Donald Trump's disastrous economic policies, his political problems could have "metastasized and spread to infect Republican candidates on the November ballot in swing states and districts," marking a tough reality for Republicans like Max Miller, Mike Turner, and Mike Carey.

Read more on how Trump and Washington Republicans' economic agenda is continuing to wreak havoc on Ohio families - raising energy costs for Ohioans, ripping away healthcare, and taking away SNAP food assistance:

Ohio Capital Journal: One year after biggest SNAP cuts ever, 100,000 Ohioans without help, state bracing for costs

• One year ago, the Republican "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" made the largest cuts to food stamps in the history of the program. Now 100,000 Ohioans are going without help and the state is bracing for enormous new costs without federal help.
• The Trump/Republican spending law made the largest cuts ever to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which is largely used by children, older adults, and those with disabilities.
• The cuts to SNAP have impacted millions of in-need Americans.
• Not only did the spending law cause major damage, but the longest-ever federal shutdown that followed it meant even those who were able to get benefits couldn't get them in a timely fashion, according to Gina Plata-Nino, director of SNAP policy and advocacy at the national Food Research & Action Center.
• "It means that kids are going to have less to eat," Plata-Nino said. "For families, it might mean that there's just no food on the table, and they may not be able to pay rent because they have to pay for this."
• Ohio saw a 7% drop in SNAP since the cuts, amounting to about 100,000 people.

AP: Obamacare rolls shrank dramatically in many states over the past year, new federal data shows

• States across the country saw steep drops in the number of people covered by the Affordable Care Act over the past year, with Ohio and Oklahoma each losing nearly one-third of enrollees, according to new federal data that provides the first complete 50-state breakdown of sharp enrollment declines following the January expiration of enhanced subsidies.
• Health insurance costs have been rising across ACA and other health insurance programs at a time when voters in the approaching November elections say affordability is among their top concerns.
• An AP analysis of the data finds that Ohio and Oklahoma each saw a more than 32% decline in ACA enrollment over the past year. They lost larger shares of their covered populations than any other state.

Ohio Capital Journal: Ohio ratepayers' summer electric bills could top $800, report says

• Average Ohio residential utility bills are now projected to be about $800 for the summer, a new report says. That's a 17% increase over the $682 Ohioans paid last summer, said the report, by Washington, D.C.-based Third Way.
• Francesca Hsie, Deputy Director of Electricity for Third Way, said Trump's approach is only increasing Ohioans' electric bills.
• "Ohioans are staring down electricity bills that could cost more than $800 this summer," she said in an email.
• "Instead of working to lower those costs, the Trump administration is attacking the very clean energy generation that could help meet the state's record electricity demand and forcing aging coal plants to stay open long after their scheduled closure."
• She added, "That's the opposite of an affordability strategy - it will make Ohioan's energy bills higher long into the future. At a time when families across Ohio and the U.S. are struggling with rising costs, federal, state, and local governments must work together to lower electricity prices by expanding clean energy and modernizing our grid."

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