After nearly a decade in Congress, Brian Fitzpatrick has perfected one political skill above all others: the meaningless gesture to score political points.
The carefully timed letter. The press release meant to signal concern, but without actually delivering any tangible results. The last-minute maneuver designed to benefit his own political future, not the hardworking people of Bucks and Montgomery counties he claims to represent.
Fitzpatrick may have succeeded in getting his name in some splashy headlines, but here’s the reality: He has done nothing to lower our costs or protect our health care. And now, as a result of his failed leadership, health care costs are set to skyrocket for Pennie users all across Pennsylvania. Fitzpatrick gets press for himself, while Bucks and Montco families feel the pain.
Fitzpatrick’s recent attempt to distance himself from the health care crisis he helped create may sound nice in the newspaper, but at the end of the day, when it mattered most, he voted with his party and for a Republican health care bill that stripped protections away from working families without extending the Affordable Care Act tax credits that thousands of people in our district rely on to afford coverage.
In the end, Fitzpatrick made the problem worse while trying to convince us he is trying to make it better. And it’s a pattern for him.
Back in May, Fitzpatrick was the deciding vote to advance Republicans’ so-called “Big Beautiful Bill” out of the House. That vote set the current course we are on right now. The bill made the largest cuts to Medicaid in American history and failed to include an extension of the ACA premium tax credits – a lifeline for families and small business owners across our region.
That omission wasn’t accidental.
Fitzpatrick ran away from a key committee vote where he had a direct opportunity to include those tax credits. Instead of fighting for affordability, he ducked responsibility. And when the bill reached the House floor, after all the political theater had played out, Fitzpatrick ultimately voted to pass it anyway. That bill passed the House by a one vote margin. Fitzpatrick could have stopped it – he didn’t.
The Philadelphia Inquirer Editorial Board was clear about the consequences of Fitzpatrick’s actions. His vote to move the bill forward is the reason families in Bucks and Montgomery counties are now facing skyrocketing Pennie premiums and fewer options for affordable care. As the Editorial Board put it, Fitzpatrick “voted in favor of Trump’s so-called Big Beautiful Bill,” and his “initial vote set the current course.”
That course leads directly to higher costs.
This isn’t some abstract policy. I’ve heard from people in this district at my town halls (something Fitzpatrick refuses to hold) that they have gotten letters saying their premiums are going up, they’re worried about how they’re going to pay their skyrocketing bills. These are real consequences playing out in households across our community.
READ: Bucks County and the Nation Now Await What Comes Next: Higher Health Care Costs
And health care isn’t the only place where Fitzpatrick has helped drive up costs. On the broader cost-of-living crisis, he is actively part of the problem. Fitzpatrick voted to greenlight Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs. Those reckless tariffs have driven up the price of everyday goods—from food to household essentials—squeezing working families who are already struggling to keep up.
Taken together, the picture is clear: Brian Fitzpatrick’s votes have contributed directly to higher health care costs and higher prices at the checkout counter. His late-stage attempts to appear concerned can’t undo the damage he has already done over the course of his nearly decade-long time spent in Washington.
Bucks and Montgomery counties deserve more than performative moderation and last-minute cover stories. We deserve a representative who will fight for affordable health care, defend Medicaid, extend ACA tax credits, and lower costs; not someone who says the right thing one day and casts the wrong vote the next.
