Tom Kisken | Ventura County Star
More than 35,000 people in a congressional district encompassing much of Ventura County would see their health insurance premiums skyrocket and thousands would drop coverage without the tax credits that are part of the standoff over the government shutdown, U.S. Rep. Julia Brownley said in a Camarillo news conference.
Democrats say they won’t pass a resolution to fund the government unless the measure extends the Affordable Care Act credits that serve as subsidies and are set to expire at the end of the year. Many Ventura County residents insured through Covered California could see their premiums double without the aid.
Republicans say the subsidies and cuts to Medicaid should be discussed after an agreement is reached on ending a shutdown that began Oct. 1 and ranks as the nation’s second longest ever. They blame the shutdown on the Democrats.
“Republicans lie and deflect blame,” said Brownley, D-Westlake Village, in an Oct. 24 presser marked with signs that read, “Republicans own this shutdown.”
Brownley, who represents the 26th Congressional District, noted the GOP controls the House of Representatives, the Senate and the White House. They have the power to reopen the government, she said.
“They refuse to do their jobs,” she said.
Brownley said the government funding bill that would end the shutdown is her party’s only leverage on health care. She said the loss of the subsidies would mean people who need care will lose it. Democrats are also pushing to reverse earlier healthcare cuts that advocates say would devastate the safety net system.
The news conference was held in front of offices of the Gold Coast Health Plan, the publicly funded system that administers California’s Medicaid coverage — Medi-Cal — to about 245,000 county residents. Dr. Felix Nuñez, the plan’s CEO, said the cuts approved in H.R. 1, President Trump’s “big beautiful bill,” will bring massive funding cuts across California that will hurt vulnerable patients, doctors, clinics and hospitals with ripple effects felt everywhere.
It is not an abstract threat, he said. It is real.
Other speakers included Laura Espinosa, chair of the commission that governs the Gold Coast Health Plan, and Ventura County Supervisor Vianey Lopez.
“Families are worried if they’ll still have health care coverage, if their doctors will still be there,” Espinosa said.
More than 20 people attended the news conference. They included immigration advocates who held signs urging Brownley to inspect the Camarillo field office for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. In a time of ramped-up enforcement, it’s where people detained by ICE are initially taken.
“When will you visit (Cortez) Circle?” one sign read.
Brownley said she has formerly requested a visit of the facility and said it is a priority. She voiced her objections to ICE’s raids and arrests.
“These are hard-working people who pay their taxes,” she said of the people being detained.
This story was originally published by the Ventura County Star on October 25, 2025.
Issues: 119th Congress, Healthcare, Local Issues