Pictured are protesters in favor of the Affordable Care Act and against the government shutdown in Central Park on Monday, Oct. 6.

Text and Photos
By Brianna White
InkFreeNews

WARSAW — Nearly 30 people participated in a protest in favor of the Affordable Care Act and against the current government shut down in Warsaw on Monday, Oct. 6.

Protesters gathered at the base of the flags in Central Park in front of the Zimmer Biomet Pavilion, where Indiana Republicans were holding a reception for candidates running for Kosciusko County Council in 2026.

The protest was organized by Kosciusko County Democrats. The crowd chanted, “Reopen the government! Protect the ACA! Release the Epstein Files!” and “Protect healthcare! Protect Democracy!”

Robert Osbun, Kosciusko Democrats treasurer, said, “Republicans control all three branches of government but have failed to address healthcare.”

Suzette Clayton, one of the protesters, said that she was a “retired teacher of 37 years” who was there because the government is “doing horrible things that will jeopardize the well-being of children” and said that she does not want children to lose their healthcare.

“I don’t get to retire,” said Clayton. “I have to be out here trying to make a difference, hoping that maybe somebody will listen.”

Bianca Alvarez speaks to protesters.

Bianca Alvarez, a social worker, said that she was there to be a voice for “the people who are going to potentially lose their Healthcare with the Medicaid cuts.”

“It’s crucial that people understand that we need the funding, and we need the understanding that working, disabled, and elderly Hoosiers, families, and children need appropriate healthcare or otherwise they could die,” said Alvarez. “There is lifesaving healthcare that they need.”

Alvarez also explained that people need to have a “Social Security number and permanent residency or proper documentation” to receive ACA health benefits, so “undocumented people obviously don’t have documents to qualify. The lies need to stop.”

Susan Young, retired government employee who was at the protest, said, regarding her experiences working with welfare beneficiaries, “I worked in the food stamp program, the child nutrition programs, and WIC… I did not encounter any [malicious fraud], and I worked three different offices. I worked in a total of over 25 states. I saw a whole variety. I started on the East Coast, then San Francisco, then up to Chicago. I saw people from all parts of this country and read their case files. They needed the benefits. They really did.”

Young also said, regarding the government shutdown, “I also know how bad it is and how much it costs the American people that they don’t recognize. Because you have to work before the shutdown to contact all the states and go through everything. Then during the shutdown, heaven forbid that you’re an essential person, then you’re asked to work and not get paid … Then, once it comes back up, you’ve lost so much productivity, but you have to get the programs back running. I don’t think people realize how much the programs suffer.”

Brian Smith, Kosciusko County Democrat vice-chair and chairman of Indiana’s 2nd Congressional District, said “Hoosiers are paying the price for Washington’s disfunction. The government is shut down, working families are losing access to vital services, and affordable healthcare is on the line. The expanded ACA tax credits have helped thousands of Indiana families afford coverage, but unless Congress acts, those credits will expire, and premiums are going to skyrocket.”