| Thanks to vulnerable Congressman John McGuire, Virginians are paying more for health care – or even going without insurance entirely.
New reporting from C-Ville details how McGuire is responsible for spiking costs for his constituents, including one who says she is “cutting back in general” and will work more hours and skip taking vacations because of his votes in Washington.
Read key excerpts from the reporting for yourself:
C-Ville: John McGuire vs. the ACA
By Nathan Alderman | May 27, 2026
- [Stephanie] spends her days driving back and forth between court hearings and home visits. She takes medicine for prediabetes, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure. And from December 2025 to January 2026, her health insurance premiums surged by 67 percent, to nearly $1,000 a month.
- “I’m cutting back in general,” Cangin says when asked how the price hike has affected her life. “Everything’s more expensive right now. So, no vacations. I guess I’m working more hours. It’s hard to tell exactly.”
- “I’ve got a real heart for health care,” McGuire says, saying the existing system is broken. But Cangin’s higher costs owe directly to McGuire’s vote for Republicans’ HR1 budget bill last May.
- In voting for HR1, McGuire sealed the fate of the Affordable Care Act’s enhanced premium tax credits. They helped more people afford health insurance plans through an ACA exchange.
- “They just suck,” McGuire said of the enhanced subsidies in a December 2025 appearance on conservative commentator John Fredericks’ radio show.
- Charles Gaba has tracked data related to the Affordable Care Act since 2013 at his site acasignups.net. Based on prior-year figures and statewide drops in enrollment, he estimates that as of February 2026, roughly 33,500 people in Virginia’s 5th District—around four out of every 100 residents—were enrolled in an ACA plan.
- At the extreme end of the increases, a 63-year-old couple making $90,000 a year would go from paying $638 a month to $2,345. Charts for Danville and Lynchburg showed similar increases across the board.
- In Virginia, 33,000 fewer people had signed up as of April 3, which the head of the state’s exchange described as “the biggest drop-off in the first quarter that we’ve ever seen.” That number could grow in the months ahead.
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