The Wall Street Journal
What’s News
SUNDAY, JUNE 14, 2026
6/14/2026 6:00:00 AMShare This Episode
How a Health Insurance Shortfall in Georgia Could Play Out in the Midterms
ジョージア州の医療保険不足は中間選挙にどう影響するのか
Thousands of residents in the Peach State have dropped out of health insurance coverage since the start of 2025, prompted in part by this year’s expiration of enhanced federal subsidies that helped them pay their monthly premiums. For our special What’s News series The Cost-of-Living Election, WSJ national politics reporter Sabrina Siddiqui speaks to Republican pollster Adam Geller and Democratic pollster John Anzalone. They discuss voters’ expectations of Congress when it comes to healthcare costs, Democrats’ trust advantage on healthcare, and whether that could swing the election to their party—including incumbent Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff—in November.
• health insurance shortfall /hɛlθ ɪnˈʃʊrəns ˈʃɔːrtfɔːl/ 医療保険の不足、加入者減少問題
• play out /pleɪ aʊt/ 展開する、結果として現れる
• midterm election /ˈmɪdˌtɜːrm ɪˈlɛkʃən/ 中間選挙
• Peach State /piːʧ steɪt/ ジョージア州（愛称）
• drop out of /drɑːp aʊt əv/ ～から離脱する、やめる
• health insurance coverage /hɛlθ ɪnˈʃʊrəns ˈkʌvərɪʤ/ 医療保険の補償・加入
• prompt /prɑːmpt/ 引き起こす、促す
• in part /ɪn pɑːrt/ 部分的に、一因として
• expiration /ˌɛkspəˈreɪʃən/ 期限切れ、失効
• enhanced federal subsidy /ɪnˈhænst ˈfɛdərəl ˈsʌbsədi/ 拡充された連邦補助金
• monthly premium /ˈmʌnθli ˈpriːmiəm/ 月額保険料
• pollster /ˈpoʊlstər/ 世論調査専門家
• trust advantage /trʌst ədˈvæntɪʤ/ 信頼面での優位性
• swing the election /swɪŋ ði ɪˈlɛkʃən/ 選挙結果を左右する
• incumbent /ɪnˈkʌmbənt/ 現職の
John Czajkowski: So, I'm using Georgia Access's state-based exchange website as a starting point, but you can actually do this at healthcare.gov. There's a-
Sabrina Siddiqui: John Czajkowski is at his computer scrolling through the options for health insurance in Georgia.
John Czajkowski: I'm plugging in. I live in Fulton County, so I'm in downtown Atlanta. Here's my date of birth and then my income.
Sabrina Siddiqui: Czajkowski is an independent insurance broker and he's giving us a closer look at what he calls a double whammy. Premiums for insurance that complies with the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, have gone up and federal tax credits that would have helped people pay for them expired on January 1st. Czajkowski saw the effects of this on prices and on the people he helps find insurance.
• plug in /plʌɡ ɪn/ （情報を）入力する
• Fulton County /ˈfʊltən ˈkaʊnti/ フルトン郡（ジョージア州）
• independent insurance broker /ˌɪndɪˈpɛndənt ɪnˈʃʊrəns ˈbroʊkər/ 独立系保険ブローカ
• double whammy /ˌdʌbəl ˈwæmi/ ダブルパンチ、二重打撃
• federal tax credit /ˈfɛdərəl tæks ˈkrɛdɪt/ 連邦税額控除
John Czajkowski: Seeing the rates increase year over year, that's kind of par for the course. Seeing the rates jump overnight from one year to the next, that significant 30% to 40%, that was a shock to the system. Most people were not expecting the shift to be that dramatic. And this last open enrollment, eyes were wide open. I had people in tears saying, "I can't pay for this. I'm going to have to go uninsured."
• year over year /jɪr ˌoʊvər ˈjɪr/ 前年比で、年ごとに
• par for the course /pɑːr fər ðə kɔːrs/ よくあること、想定内のこと
• open enrollment /ˈoʊpən ɪnˈroʊlmənt/ 保険加入受付期間
• eyes wide open /aɪz waɪd ˈoʊpən/ 目を見開いて、非常に驚いて
• uninsured /ˌʌnɪnˈʃʊrd/ 無保険の
Sabrina Siddiqui: Some subsidies are still in place, but Congress allowed enhanced Obamacare subsidies doled out during the COVID-19 pandemic to lapse. A fight so biter it led to a government shutdown over whether or not to extend them. Providing those subsidies obviously comes at a cost for the US government. A congressional budget office analysis from September found that a three-year extension for them would have cost the federal government roughly $90 billion. But losing those subsidies has been tough for a lot of the people Czajkowski works with. He calls the latest period of health insurance signups the hardest one he's seen in his 17 years on the job. The health research nonprofit KFF estimates that on average, the expired subsidies mean that annual premium payments for ACA marketplace enrollees will more than double from an average of $888 in 2025 to roughly $1,900 this year. Czajkowski says that in a few cases, he saw family's premiums triple.
• subsidy /ˈsʌbsədi/ 補助金
• in place /ɪn pleɪs/ 実施中で、有効な状態で
• dole out /doʊl aʊt/ （金銭などを）配る、支給する
• lapse /læps/ 失効する、終了する
• bitter fight /ˈbɪtər faɪt/ 激しい対立
• come at a cost /kʌm æt ə kɔːst/ 代償を伴う、費用がかかる
• Congressional Budget Office (CBO) /kənˈɡrɛʃənəl ˈbʌʤɪt ˈɔːfɪs/ 米議会予算局
• signup /ˈsaɪnʌp/ 申込、登録
• on the job /ɑːn ðə ʤɑːb/ 職務について
• ACA marketplace enrollee /eɪ si eɪ ˈmɑːrkɪtˌpleɪs ɪnˌrɑːˈliː/ ACA保険市場加入者
John Czajkowski: A lot of people were flat out upset, devastated in some cases.
• flat out /ˌflæt ˈaʊt/ 本当に、完全に、まったく
• upset /ʌpˈsɛt/ 動揺した、腹を立てた、落胆した
Sabrina Siddiqui: I'm Sabrina Siddiqui and this is What's News Sunday. Over the last few weeks, I've been reporting on how the rising cost of living could determine who controls Congress next year. In this episode, we talked to some of the Georgians navigating higher healthcare costs and to the pollsters who work with the Wall Street Journal to tell us what those costs might mean ahead of statewide primary runoff elections coming up this Tuesday. This is the cost of living election part three.
3:30
According to the Georgia recorder, the Peach State has seen a 37% drop in Affordable Care Act enrollment since the start of last year. That represents more than half a million Georgians in a state of roughly 11 and a half million. And data from the US census shows that a few years ago, Georgia had one of the highest rates of residents under 65 without insurance at 13.6%. Joey Bernard is one of them. He would've gotten insurance through Georgia Access this year, but it was too expensive.
Joey Bernard: The prices we were seeing on the Georgia Access website was going to be about a third to low under half of our monthly budget and everything, I couldn't justify it.
Sabrina Siddiqui: Bernard is 40 and he lives with his wife and daughter in the city of Ball Ground. It's in Cherokee County, which isn't far from Atlanta, though far enough from that urban center so as to be solidly Republican. At the presidential level, the county hasn't voted for a Democratic president since Georgia's own Jimmy Carter. For Bernard, the premium costs on marketplace insurance just weren't sustainable.
• so as to /soʊ æz tə/ ～するために、～となるほど
Joey Bernard: Basically seeing $800 one night and then the following day or the next day or so and seeing $1,600 and $2,400, I was like, "Are you kidding me?" I shook my head and I was like, "There's no way. This can't continue. This is outrageous."
Sabrina Siddiqui: Last year, Bernard was laid off from the IT job he'd worked for 15 years. He's found work again, but his new job doesn't provide health insurance like his old one did. Now he and his wife are setting money aside to pay out of pocket for any medical attention they might need.
• lay off /leɪ ɔːf/ 解雇する、一時解雇する
• be laid off /bi leɪd ɔːf/ 解雇される
• set money aside /sɛt ˈmʌni əˈsaɪd/ お金を取っておく、積み立てる
• pay out of pocket /peɪ aʊt əv ˈpɑːkɪt/ 自己負担で支払う
• medical attention /ˈmɛdɪkəl əˈtɛnʃən/ 医療処置、診察、医療サービス
Joey Bernard: We've taken the money that otherwise would have been spent for insurance and just using it for straight-up cash and just kind of hoping and praying that nothing catastrophic happens for right now until we can find something more reasonable for our family.
Sabrina Siddiqui: For some other Georgians, the higher cost of healthcare is already leading to tough choices.
Elyzabeth Barnett: We haven't been going out. We've been doing meatless Mondays. To be frank, other expenses have gone up as well on top of insurance.
Sabrina Siddiqui: Elyzabeth Barnett lives with her husband, daughter, and grandfather in Stone Mountain, Georgia, also near Atlanta. For a while, she was uninsured.
Elyzabeth Barnett: We spent several years where we were not in the financial position to take care of our health and even have insurance at all.
Sabrina Siddiqui: That changed when her husband started a job as a paramedic, which provided her with health insurance. During the pandemic, she took advantage of the more affordable marketplace insurance to tap into a broader network of doctors. Those costs have gone up so she's back on her husband's insurance. Barnett has to see a cardiologist because heart issues run in her family. Her coverage to see that kind of specialist isn't great so she doesn't visit him as much as she'd like.
• tap into /tæp ˈɪntuː/ ～を利用する、活用する
• be back on /bi bæk ɑːn/ 再び加入する、再び利用する
• cardiologist /ˌkɑːrdiˈɑːləʤɪst/ 循環器専門医
• run in the family /rʌn ɪn ðə ˈfæməli/ 家系に多い、遺伝的傾向がある
• coverage /ˈkʌvərɪʤ/ 保険適用範囲、補償内容
Elyzabeth Barnett: The price went up and the coverage went down. We're having to plan and micromanage our budget to be like, "Okay, well, can we afford to see the cardiologist or are we going to have to push it out and just hope for the best?" Because to be frank, I cannot afford a $500 doctor visit to see a cardiologist.
• micromanage /ˌmaɪkrəˈmænɪʤ/ 細かく管理する、逐一管理する
• push out /pʊʃ aʊt/ 延期する、先送りする
• hope for the best /hoʊp fər ðə bɛst/ 最善を願う、なるようになることを願う
Sabrina Siddiqui: Joey Bernard and Elizabeth Barnett are both paying attention to the elections coming up in Georgia. The state holds runoff elections this Tuesday. One race will decide which Republican challenger will take on Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff for his seat in November. Ossoff will have to motivate people like Barnett.
Elyzabeth Barnett: We'll be voting Democrat. Pretty much have only ever voted Democrat, actually.
Sabrina Siddiqui: While also pulling over people like Bernard. He's leaning toward the Democrats this time around, even though he's voted Republican in the past.
Joey Bernard: We've had a rash of a lot of Republicans recently the last number of years here where I live and in Georgia in general and things just do not seem to have gotten significantly better for me or my family and a lot of my friends and coworkers. So, that's why I just feel like, okay, maybe it's time to swing to the other side for this round.
• pretty much /ˈprɪti mʌʧ/ ほとんど、だいたい
• have only ever done /hæv ˈoʊnli ˈɛvər dʌn/ これまでずっと～しかしてこなかった
• pull over voters /pʊl ˈoʊvər/ （支持者を）取り込む、引き寄せる
• this time around /ðɪs taɪm əˈraʊnd/ 今回は
• a rash of /ə ræʃ əv/ 相次ぐ、多数の
Sabrina Siddiqui: Coming up, I talked to a pollster from each party to ask what they've seen and how voters in Georgia and across the country are responding to increased health insurance costs.
John Anzalone: We in a way are giving voice to people and their opinions and attitudes, and that's really important.
• give voice to /ɡɪv vɔɪs tuː/ ～に声を与える、～の意見を代弁する
Sabrina Siddiqui: That's after the break.
Here at The Wall Street Journal, we don't just report on the results of polls. We also work with pollsters to conduct some of our own. As a national politics reporter at the paper, I always appreciate a conversation with those pollsters. I'm joined now by Adam Geller and John Anzalone, our Republican and Democratic pollsters respectively. Adam, hello.
Adam Geller: Great to be here. Thanks for having me.
Sabrina Siddiqui: John, hello.
John Anzalone: Hey, Sabrina.
Sabrina Siddiqui: John, I want to ask you first, a lot of the voters we talked to didn't have much faith in politicians' ability to offer real solutions to the growing costs of healthcare, but is one party more trusted than the other on that issue?
John Anzalone: Yeah. It's one of the rare issues where Democrats actually have a trust advantage over Republicans. We've seen that consistently on healthcare, but I think that there's actually a broader problem in terms of how people feel that the political and financial systems in this country are stacked against you.
• trust advantage /trʌst ədˈvæntɪʤ/ 信頼度での優位
• consistently /kənˈsɪstəntli/ 一貫して
• be stacked against someone /bi stækt əˈɡɛnst ˈsʌmwʌn/ ～に不利にできている
Sabrina Siddiqui: Right. In our poll from May, it was basically three quarters of respondents who said they felt the economic and political systems in the US are stacked against people like them.
John Anzalone: And so, the trust level, there's an impediment there, but we can talk about what people think politicians can actually fix and that's where it gets really kind of interesting. And our January Wall Street Journal poll healthcare was right up there with groceries, but when we ask a separate question about what do you want the president and Congress to make a priority, healthcare beat out groceries by 20 points, which kind of tells you that they think that there's something that they can do about healthcare, but maybe not so much about groceries.
• impediment /ɪmˈpɛdəmənt/ 障害、妨げ
Sabrina Siddiqui: Adam, John was just talking about that Wall Street Journal poll in January. A vast majority of voters also expected their premiums to rise 70%. More people said they would blame Trump administration policies 44% compared to health insurance companies that was just 27% for their premiums going up. So, how much of a liability is this issue for Republicans and has anything changed since January? Has it gotten better or worse for Republicans?
Adam Geller: Wow. I mean, there's a lot there and the reality is John is right. Let's start with the basics. In terms of which party voters trust more, Democrats absolutely have the advantage on healthcare. President Trump is a easy target for partisan Democrats, most of whom are united in blaming him. Republicans don't have an easy target such as Trump. And so, what happens is independents and Republicans split blame a little bit more evenly. Insurance companies get some of the blame. Previous administrations get some, and yes, the current administration also gets some.
• split blame /splɪt bleɪm/ 責任を分散して考える
John Anzalone: Within premiums going up, one of the things that really stuck with me was the woman who said she couldn't afford the $500 that the cardiologist was going to cost. Well, on our most recent May poll, we asked this very question about whether you could actually afford a $500 surprise bill. That could be healthcare, it could be tires, it could be a water heater. And 34% of Americans say they could not come up with $500. That kind of tells you the financial anxiety that people are dealing with right now. And Sabrina, can I just add that Democrats have an advantage, but only if they talk about healthcare the right way. We heard a lot about ACA subsidies, Medicaid cuts, $35 insulins, prescription drugs. Democrats tend to focus on those things instead of the 70% of people who have private health insurance. And in some of our internal polling, this isn't necessarily Wall Street Journal polling, those things that tested with incredible intensity because they met people where they were had to do with things that they deal with every day. We find that it's one, it's health insurance costs. And two, the other big thing is they don't feel like they're getting what they pay for. They want to require health insurance companies to cover the treatments and procedures that doctors prescribe and they always are getting denied. And those two things, health insurance costs ranked at like 43% requiring health insurance companies to cover treatments their doctors asked for is at 38%. Lowering prescription drugs and copays was actually down at 7%. And it seems like that's all Democrats and Republicans want to talk about. And so, a lot of times they're not talking about the right thing.
• stick with someone /stɪk wɪð/ 強く印象に残る
• meet people where they are /miːt ˈpiːpəl wɛr ðeɪ ɑːr/ 人々の現実や関心に寄り添う
• get what you pay for /ɡɛt wʌt ju peɪ fɔːr/ 支払った分の価値を得る
• copay /ˈkoʊpeɪ/ 自己負担金
• rank at /ræŋk æt/ ～の割合になる
Sabrina Siddiqui: That's a really interesting point because Republicans have long talked about replacing the Affordable Care Act with something else, though it's not always clear what. Meanwhile, for the Democrats in recent years, the idea of Medicare for All really gained traction among progressives, but it's not something that the party is touting so much anymore. Adam, how do the parties' visions differ on healthcare?
Adam Geller: Well, it's dollars and cents. The way in which the parties split on this has to do with the cost, the deficit when it comes to public funding and taxpayer costs. There's an element of potential fraud or perhaps even known fraud when it comes to who's eligible for some of these subsidies or who might even be eligible for other kinds of healthcare issues. It's not just illegal migrants, which I know sometimes it's easy to break it down in terms of that's the Republican argument, but it's also people whose income far exceeds what it really should be in order to be eligible for such things. So, I think the real concern with fraud and potential for fraud is something that Republicans are looking at, but it's really easy then to message against them to say, "Well, in the meantime, this is what you're cutting for working people who can use it." And it's a compelling message and a strong one.
• dollars and cents /ˌdɑːlərz ən ˈsɛnts/ 金銭問題、損得勘定
• compelling message /kəmˈpɛlɪŋ ˈmɛsɪʤ/ 説得力のある主張
Sabrina Siddiqui: John, the subsidies were such a source of contention. I covered it very closely. Democrats shut down the government in a bid to try and extend the subsidies and some might argue that they caved in that fight because ultimately in order to reopen the government, they secured a vote on the subsidy issue, but it was very clear that there was no deal in place to extend the enhanced subsidies. And so, do you feel like voters, especially Democratic voters, believe that the party has done enough on healthcare that they really did everything they could to try and protect these subsidies since they impact such a large share of voters?
• source of contention /sɔːrs əv kənˈtɛnʃən/ 争点、対立の原因
• cave in /keɪv ɪn/ 譲歩する、折れる
John Anzalone: Yeah, I do think that this is kind of like an opinion elite versus real voter. I mean, I think your segment was in Georgia. I think Jon Ossoff, Senator Ossoff, is going to benefit by the fact that he's fighting to restore those cuts to ACA or restore cuts to Medicaid. When you take in Georgia, for example, I think 10% of the populous is on ACA, 20% on Medicaid, that's 30% and they're going to believe Jon Ossoff on those issues a hell of a lot more than Republicans because they know that Republicans are the ones who cut both of those. So, I think we're on firm ground and I think that whether we went far enough or what was the pain threshold before you gave in and things like that is more of an insider argument.
• opinion elite /əˈpɪnjən ɪˈliːt/ オピニオンリーダー層、政策エリート層
• populace /ˈpɑːpjələs/ 住民、大衆 / populous は「人口の多い」という形容詞
• pain threshold /peɪn ˈθrɛʃˌhoʊld/ 我慢の限界点
• give in /ɡɪv ɪn/ 譲歩する
Sabrina Siddiqui: Adam, what are the candidates saying on the subsidy issue, especially Republican candidates this election cycle?
Adam Geller: It just feels like there's been a little bit of light messaging when it comes to that as the Republicans have really focused on each other and getting through the runoff. And that I think really does back up John's point that Senator Ossoff in the meantime is the beneficiary because he has a really easy message to put out there in terms of what he's fighting for.
John Anzalone: And I would say that from a Democratic consultant, there's two groups to really focus on. Women are the healthcare deciders. They deal with their own individual healthcare problems. They deal with their kids. They often deal with either their parents or their in laws. And number two, seniors are very healthcare sensitive. They just have a little bit more time and they're just in a little different stage of their life and seniors have become much more of a persuadable or swing universe starting in 2020. President Biden in that year moved the gap down from Trump's previous election in 2016. And these are really astute voters. Women voters, especially suburban women voters and older voters will pay a lot of attention to the healthcare issue.
• in-laws /ˈɪn lɔːz/ 義理の親族
• persuadable voter /pərˈsweɪdəbəl ˈvoʊtər/ 説得可能な有権者
• swing voter /swɪŋ ˈvoʊtər/ 浮動票層
• universe /ˈjuːnəˌvɜːrs/ （世論調査で）対象集団、有権者層
• move the gap down /muːv ðə ɡæp daʊn/ 格差を縮小する
• astute voter /əˈstuːt ˈvoʊtər/ 洞察力のある有権者
Sabrina Siddiqui: John, Adam, thank you so much for being here.
Adam Geller: Thank you for having us.
John Anzalone: Thanks, Sabrina.
Sabrina Siddiqui: The cost of living election is part of the Wall Street Journal's What's News. This episode was produced and mixed by Pierre Bienaimé. Michael Lavelle wrote our music. Editorial oversight from Joshua Jamerson, Chris Zinsli, and Tali Arbel. I'm Sabrina Siddiqui and I'll be back soon with the last installment of the cost of living election. Thanks for listening.
WSJ:20260615
• guzzle /ˈɡʌzəl/ 大量消費する
• commercial inventory /kəˈmɜːrʃəl ˈɪnvənˌtɔːri/ 商業在庫
• strategic inventory /strəˈtiːʤɪk ˈɪnvənˌtɔːri/ 戦略備蓄
• cage match /keɪʤ mætʧ/ ケージマッチ