PRESS RELEASE
🚨FACT CHECK, TRUE: John James Voted to Increase Michiganders’ Healthcare Costs Three Times
“A spokesperson for the James campaign did not return a message seeking comment for this story.” - Bridge Michigan
New reporting by Bridge Michigan exposed John James’ healthcare record — confirming he’s voted at least three times to raise the healthcare costs of Michiganders. In January, Jocelyn declared healthcare the “defining issue” of the race and is still the only candidate with a real plan to lower medical bills, improve outcomes, and expand access to lifesaving care. While Jocelyn is laser focused on lowering costs, James has spent his time in Congress voting to rip away Michiganders’ healthcare and raise premiums on thousands.
John James has openly called for the destruction of the Affordable Care Act and he’s voted at least twice to gut the ACA. James’ shameful record includes:
Vote #1: Voting for the Republican healthcare bill that allowed the ACA tax credits to expire in December 2025;
Vote #2: Doubling-down on raising healthcare costs by voting against the three-year extension of the ACA tax credits — the lifeline that allowed thousands of Michiganders to afford their healthcare;
Vote #3: Proudly “leading the charge” on the largest Medicaid cuts in the nation’s history, voting for Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill last year.
The end result of James’ work in Congress: nearly 500,000 Michiganders, including children and seniors in nursing homes, are at risk of losing access to lifesaving care.
“Jocelyn Benson is being generous, calling out just three times John James voted to raise healthcare costs. In reality, it’s triple that. He voted three times to raise health insurance costs, voted 29 times against protections for Medicaid, and showed time and time again he’d stop at nothing to make healthcare less accessible and more expensive. And he did it all while lining his pockets with Big Pharma money,” said Deputy Campaign Manager Alyssa Bradley. “Jocelyn will take on private insurers, lower healthcare costs, and expand access to care so every Michigander can see a doctor, no matter their ZIP code — and she’ll keep calling out John James for his reprehensible record of doing the opposite.”
Key point: “Alyvia Bailey, a spokesperson for the James campaign, did not return a message seeking comment for this story.”
In case you missed it…
Bridge Michigan: Fact check: Did John James vote to increase health costs for Michiganders?
[Matt Mencarini, 9/1/26]
Early in her general election campaign, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, a Democrat, used GOP Rep. John James’ time in the US House against him, telling a crowd of supporters that he voted to increase healthcare costs for Michiganders.
[...]
“He’s already shown us who he’s fighting for,” Benson said. “You know, he voted not once, not twice, but three times to raise healthcare costs for hundreds of thousands of Michiganders.”
Benson’s campaign pointed Bridge to James’ votes for President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act and against enhanced premium tax credits for healthcare plans purchased through the Affordable Care Act as the actions she was referencing in the speech.
[...]
Alyvia Bailey, a spokesperson for the James campaign, did not return a message seeking comment for this story.
[...]
In 2025, James voted in favor of Trump’s “One Big, Beautiful Bill,” sweeping legislation that promised more tax breaks and border security but less spending on Medicaid and food assistance.
[...]
In December 2025, James voted in favor of a bill that the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated would increase premiums for some people on ACA plans and result in others dropping their coverage due to changes in eligibility for tax credits. The legislation did not pass in the Senate.
And in January, James and the rest of Michigan’s GOP House members voted against reactivating enhanced insurance subsidies under the Affordable Care Act, the Detroit News reported.
[...]
Premium increases in 2027 will come after the large increases for ACA plans in 2026.
KFF, a nonprofit focused on healthcare research that has a connection with KFF Health News, found that in 2026, premium payments from ACA enrollees went up, on average, by 58%.
In 2027, premium rate increases among ACA Marketplace plans in Michigan could range from 12.5% to 25.5%.
In 2025, more than 500,000 people in Michigan had health coverage through the Marketplace created by the Affordable Care Act, according to KFF. That number dropped to 497,064 in 2026.
[...]
During his time in Congress, James voted in favor of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and twice against continuations of ACA tax credits as they had previously been set.
###