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Millions may not have health coverage if subsidies return to pre-Biden level
Millions may not have health coverage if subsidies return to pre-Biden level
Patients, medical providers and insurers fear a shake-up in the Affordable Care Act marketplace unless Republicans extend the subsidy expansion slated to expire next year.
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https://wapo.st/4fv2IIj
By Julie Zauzmer Weil
November 17, 2024 at 9:10 a.m. EST
Patients, medical providers and insurance companies fear a shake-up in the Affordable Care Act marketplace that could cause millions of people to drop their health coverage, after Republicans’ election wins made it more likely that ACA insurance plans will get more expensive.
Congress in 2021 increased federal subsidies for ACA plans, but that expansion expires at the end of 2025, and some conservative lawmakers have made clear that they oppose an extension.
“Instead of perpetuating a tax-and-spend agenda, we can and should work together to improve health-care choice, affordability and reliability,” Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), who is slated to lead the Senate Finance Committee, said at a September hearing where he expressed his desire not to continue the expanded subsidies.
But eliminating the subsidy increase poses political risks. If subsidies fall to their pre-2021 level, experts say, many new subscribers would choose not to renew their coverage — the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office predicted that 3.4 million more people would become uninsured — and many of them live in states that lean heavily Republican. Health policy research organization KFF said that if the subsidy expansion expires, premiums would more than double in 12 heavily Republican states — including Texas, West Virginia and Alaska — while rising less sharply in many blue states.
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https://wapo.st/4fv2IIj
By Julie Weil
Julie Z. Weil reports on taxes. She has worked at The Post since 2013, including four years covering religion in America and two covering local government in D.C.follow on X @juliezweil
Patients, medical providers and insurers fear a shake-up in the Affordable Care Act marketplace unless Republicans extend the subsidy expansion slated to expire next year.
Share
https://wapo.st/4fv2IIj
By Julie Zauzmer Weil
November 17, 2024 at 9:10 a.m. EST
Patients, medical providers and insurance companies fear a shake-up in the Affordable Care Act marketplace that could cause millions of people to drop their health coverage, after Republicans’ election wins made it more likely that ACA insurance plans will get more expensive.
Congress in 2021 increased federal subsidies for ACA plans, but that expansion expires at the end of 2025, and some conservative lawmakers have made clear that they oppose an extension.
“Instead of perpetuating a tax-and-spend agenda, we can and should work together to improve health-care choice, affordability and reliability,” Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), who is slated to lead the Senate Finance Committee, said at a September hearing where he expressed his desire not to continue the expanded subsidies.
But eliminating the subsidy increase poses political risks. If subsidies fall to their pre-2021 level, experts say, many new subscribers would choose not to renew their coverage — the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office predicted that 3.4 million more people would become uninsured — and many of them live in states that lean heavily Republican. Health policy research organization KFF said that if the subsidy expansion expires, premiums would more than double in 12 heavily Republican states — including Texas, West Virginia and Alaska — while rising less sharply in many blue states.
{snip}
Share
https://wapo.st/4fv2IIj
By Julie Weil
Julie Z. Weil reports on taxes. She has worked at The Post since 2013, including four years covering religion in America and two covering local government in D.C.follow on X @juliezweil