HEADLINE: Obamacare Subsidies Trigger Government Shutdown Debate GUEST NAME: Michael Toth SUMMARY: Michael Toth explains that the current government shutdown debate centers on extending two expensive Biden-era Obamacare subsidies. These changes allow indi

The John Batchelor Show

John Batchelor

News, Society & Culture, Books, Arts

4.5 • 2.8K Ratings

🗓️ 16 October 2025

⏱️ 13 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

HEADLINE: Obamacare Subsidies Trigger Government Shutdown Debate GUEST NAME: Michael Toth SUMMARY: Michael Toth explains that the current government shutdown debate centers on extending two expensive Biden-era Obamacare subsidies. These changes allow individuals earning over 400% of the federal poverty line to receive subsidies and provide 100% coverage for the near-poor. The original Obamacare cross-subsidy structure failed because young, healthy individuals found premiums too high. Toth advocates deregulation, such as allowing insurance companies to charge lower, risk-adjusted rates and enabling single business owners to use Professional Employer Organizations (PEOs) for cheaper coverage.

1902

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Building a coffee business?
0:01.9	Serving the best Americano in town is up to you.
0:04.1	But winning back time and growing your business,
0:06.1	leave that to SumUp.
0:07.1	Take orders and payments anywhere with the new SumUp terminal.
0:09.9	Turn occasional customers into regulars with a free loyalty program.
0:13.4	And with the SumUp point of sale system,
0:15.0	you'll always know when you're running low on your best-selling blends.
0:17.9	Visit sumup.co.uk to learn more.
0:30.1	This is CBS Eye on the World. Here's John Batchelor.
0:37.3	I welcome Michael Toth, director of research for the Civitas Institute, the University of Texas at Austin,
0:38.2	writing most recently at Civitas Outlook about what we're witnessing in Washington right now, the shutdown.
0:45.5	What is it about?
0:46.8	Is it about the ability to fire people from the Department of Commerce?
0:50.3	No.
0:51.4	Is it about Donald Trump's popularity?
1:10.3	No. It's about Obamacare. Total revelation to me, and I welcome Michael to help me understand how the ghost from the past, this would be the Obama administration, is still with us and more expensive than ever.
1:12.8	Michael, a very good evening to you.
1:15.2	Obamacare was then, but now it's now.
1:16.6	It is back.
1:18.0	Some things happen.
1:21.5	One part of Congress wants to extend subsidies.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from John Batchelor, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of John Batchelor and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.