Representative Tran Calls on Republican Colleagues to Immediately Return to DC to Address Spike in Health Care Costs

Orange County, CA - U.S. Representative Derek Tran (CA-45) highlighted the devastating impacts of inaction by Congressional Republicans to lower skyrocketing health care costs. Instead of working with Democrats on a bipartisan solution to improve care and lower costs, House Republicans went on vacation, shutting down the government.

H.R. 5371, the Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act of 2026, allows the Affordable Care Act's enhanced premium tax credit to expire, spiking health care costs for thousands of people in CA-45 and threatening access to affordable health care for Southern California families.

For residents of California's 45th Congressional district, the end of the enhanced premium tax credit would mean that:

• Over 40,000 people will be left without health insurance;
• 35,000 people will see their health care costs rise, and;
• Health care costs will skyrocket by up to 703%, or over $16,000 annually.

More than 2.1 million Californians would face higher health care premiums, and, because of additional cuts to affordable health care through Medicaid, over 1.7 million California families would risk losing access to health care entirely.

"If the ACA's premium tax credits are allowed to expire, the impacts on our community would be devastating," said Representative Tran. "Hard-working families, already struggling to make ends meet amid historic cuts to Medicaid, high tariffs, and slashed funding for programs like SNAP and WIC, would see their premiums more than triple. Thousands of families will be priced out of health care entirely. Hospitals and clinics will be overburdened by rising costs that will restrict their ability to meet our community's health needs. Congressional Republicans and the Trump Administration have manufactured a health care crisis for working families, and rather than deliver what the American people deserve, they left Washington and shut the government down. I'm always willing to work with my colleagues, Democrat or Republican, to find solutions that uplift our community and our country."

Representative Tran remains committed to lowering the cost of essential health care for hardworking families in CA-45. He voted against H.R. 5371,the partisan government funding package that guts affordable health care through the Affordable Care Act. Tran signed a letterto House Leadership urging the permanent extension of premium tax credits under the Affordable Care Act, and cosponsored H.R. 4849, the Protecting Healthcare and Lowering Costs Act,to codify those tax credits in law. Tran voted againstdismantling access to affordable health care and signed a discharge petition in the House to bring H.R. 2753, the Hands Off Medicaid and SNAP Act, to the House floor for a vote. He also introduced H.R. 4317, the bipartisan PBM Reform Act, alongside Representative Earl L. "Buddy" Carter (R-GA-01), to encourage transparency and accountability in pharmacy benefit managers' (PBM) practices and lower the cost of prescription medication for hard-working families. Tran co-leads H.R. 4641, the Keep Kids Covered Act,with Representative Kathy Castor (FL-14), which would reduce the cost of healthcare for parents by ensuring continuous healthcare coverage for all children enrolled in Medicaid or the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP).

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Congressman Derek Tran represents California's 45th Congressional District. Serving his first term in Congress, Congressman Tran is a member of the House Armed Services Committee and House Small Business Committee, where he is Ranking Member of the Oversight, Investigations, and Regulations Subcommittee. Congressman Tran is the son of Vietnamese refugees, a Veteran, and fought for consumers as an attorney before entering Congress.