Shaheen Leads Colleagues in Calling on Secretary Kennedy to Undo Drastic Cuts to Critical Health Care Assistance Program
**The Navigator program has helped support historic health care enrollment in recent years**
(Washington, DC) – U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) today led a group of their Senate colleagues in a letter calling on U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., to reverse drastic funding cuts to the Affordable Care Act Navigator program, which helps Americans access quality, affordable health insurance coverage, including for Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program. The nearly 90 percent funding cut threatens to leave millions of Americans without critical assistance to access the insurance they need and would lead to a reduction in health care enrollment.
The Senators wrote, in part: “Since its inception, Navigators have become a critical resource for individuals and families, especially those living in rural and underserved areas, by helping them purchase health coverage that meets their needs.”
They continued: “In 2017 and 2018, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) slashed funding for the Navigator program by 84 percent. [...] Unsurprisingly, ACA enrollment shrank by more than 2.5 million over the course of the Trump administration. Once Navigator funding was restored in 2021, enrollment rose and reached historic levels for the 2025 plan year.”
The lawmakers concluded: “We strongly urge the administration to reconsider this harmful decision and restore full funding to the Navigator program. Cutting these vital resources will only create more barriers for individuals and families seeking coverage, ultimately increasing the number of uninsured Americans.”
Read the full text of the letter here.
Co-signers of Shaheen’s letter include U.S. Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Peter Welch (D-VT), Ed Markey (D-MA), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Maggie Hassan (D-NH) and Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM).
Shaheen champions efforts in Congress to make health care more affordable and accessible for Granite Staters and all Americans. Shaheen’s first bill introduction this Congress was her landmark Health Care Affordability Act—bicameral legislation with U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin and U.S. Congresswoman Lauren Underwood (D-IL) to permanently extend enhanced premium tax credits for Marketplace coverage that have lowered health care costs for millions of Americans.
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