Enhanced premium tax credits have made health care coverage more affordable and helped millions of Americans obtain health insurance through the individual market. However, unless Congress takes urgent action to extend the tax credits before they expire, millions of Americans across the country will face immediate and severe premium increases, leading many to forgo coverage altogether.
From coast to coast, consumers and local leaders are sounding the alarm on the unaffordable cost increases facing Americans if Congress fails to act:
Miami Herald Editorial Board: “Why is Florida on the brink of a healthcare disaster? Congress, fix this”
- “In less than six months, roughly 2.2 million Floridians are poised to lose their health insurance when enhanced premium tax cuts for the Affordable Care Act marketplace expire at the end of 2025… If an extension isn’t granted, Florida will face a healthcare insurance crisis of epic proportions.”
- “Two cities in Miami-Dade county will acutely feel the impact: Doral and Hialeah. That’s where the two ZIP codes with the most enrollees in 2022 were located. When the credits expire, federal data shows that proposed Florida insurance premiums are set to increase for ACA recipients between 18% and 41%, and some experts predict the state’s uninsured rate will increase as much as 50%.”
- “Florida is about to become ground zero for a healthcare crisis, and time is running out for millions of Floridians on their healthcare coverage. In Miami-Dade County, the consequences could be devastating.”
NPR: “She's bracing and saving to pay $2,800 a month for ACA health insurance next year”
- “Allen lives near Charleston, W.Va., and directs a small nonprofit called West Virginians for Affordable Health Care. She buys her insurance on HealthCare.gov, and right now, the 63-year-old pays $479 a month. ‘I've been really happy with my coverage,’ she says...Next year it's gonna be like $2,800 a month,’ she says, just for her individual plan...Her work organization is too small to provide affordable group coverage. She estimates that she could have $10,000 in out-of-pocket costs on top of her high premium.”
Stateline: “Health insurance will cost more for millions of Americans — especially rural residents”
- “Researchers from the Century Foundation say Trump administration policies — especially its refusal to ask Congress to extend Biden-era tax credits that are set to expire at the end of this year — will boost out-of-pocket premiums by 93% in the 32 states that allow the federal government to operate their Affordable Care Act insurance marketplaces. New rules and tariffs will have a smaller impact.”
- “Rural county residents in those states will see an increase of 107%, while residents of urban counties will pay 89% more…[A]verage annual premiums for rural residents will increase by $760 — 28% more than the expected average increase for urban residents. States where rural enrollees are expected to see the highest cost increases are Wyoming ($1,943), Alaska ($1,835), and Illinois ($1,700).”
- “We know health insurance matters, so having these large potential increases on uninsured Americans is distressing.”
News Center Maine: “Health care premiums may rise by $900 per month as tax credits set to expire”
- “According to the nonprofit Health System Tracker, if tax credits expire at the end of the year, some Mainers could see their health insurance premiums increase by as much as $900 dollars per month.”
- “...With the tax credits, marketplace healthcare for some people would only increase by five percent, but without the credits, there would be a 122 percent increase for some cohorts of people.”
- “Many working class people use health insurance through the exchange will likely be unable to afford health care if those increases happen.”
- “Since Maine's hospitals are nonprofits, Fullam Harris said people will be forced to treat more patients without pay. The hospital is now re-examining their operations to see where they can cut back.”
Virginia Mercury: “Virginia business, health care leaders press for renewal of ACA tax credits”
- “As she approaches her final year of grad school to eventually become a school counselor, Richmond-area resident Natalie Tyer is stressed about whether or not she will be able to afford health care next year. Special tax credits that help people like her purchase health insurance plans will lapse in December without action from Congress, a prospect federal lawmakers are currently debating.”
- “Purchasing health insurance through Virginia’s marketplace and utilizing the special tax credits to offset some of the cost buys Tyer peace of mind, but now she’s facing the reality that she might have to forgo renewing her plan, which would leave her unprepared in case of any medical emergencies next year.”
- “About 400,000 Virginians purchase health insurance through the state’s exchange, and some of those people, like Tyer, qualify for and use the enhanced premium tax credits. First created in 2021 and extended in 2022, they’re set to expire at the end of this year unless Congress renews them.”
The clock is ticking, but Congress still has time to stop the affordability crisis and protect health coverage for millions of Americans.
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