Brown Blasts Catastrophic Loss of Health Care Coverage in Ohio

Cleveland, OH – According to the latest official federal data, over 160,000 Ohioans have lost Affordable Care Act health care coverage following cuts enacted by the Trump Administration. From February 2025 to February 2026 (the latest month with official date available) the number of Ohioans enrolled in Affordable Care Act exchange plans dropped from 497,443 to 336,058, meaning 161,385 Ohioans lost their ACA health care coverage. 

The 32.4% drop in enrollment in Ohio is the largest decline for any state in the country. Nationwide, 2.6 million Americans have lost coverage. Ohio enrollment has dropped in each of the last eight monthly reports. 

“Over 161,000 Ohioans have lost their health care coverage because of Donald Trump and his Republican allies. This is an absolute catastrophe. While Trump builds a ballroom to himself and hands out millions to millionaires, thousands of Ohioans can no longer get the basic health care they need. These are real people who are now one illness or one emergency away from financial ruin because Republicans chose to gut health care to pay for tax cuts for the wealthiest among us. I am worried that these numbers will only get worse as the Trump cuts cause health care costs to skyrocket. It is time for Republicans in Congress to work with us to restore the Affordable Care Act – the stakes are too high,” said Congresswoman Shontel Brown.

This loss of coverage follows the implementation of President Trump’s budget bill that included cuts to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act and allowed ACA Enhanced Premium Tax Credits to expire. House Democrats forced a vote on extending these credits in January, but despite the legislation passing the House, Senate Republicans have blocked the bill and President Trump threatened a veto. 

Instead of making health care more affordable, President Trump’s budget bill included over $1 trillion in cuts to Medicaid, Medicare, and the Affordable Care Act, provided over $300,000 in annual tax cuts to the wealthiest 0.1%, and gave ICE a $75 billion dollar slush fund – increasing the national debt by over $3 trillion. 

Congresswoman Brown voted to extend ACA Enhanced Premium Tax Credits in 2022 as part of the Inflation Reduction Act. Last fall, Brown and Ohioans who were losing their health care coverage due to Republican cuts spoke out in Cleveland.   

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