The extended Affordable Care Act subsidies credited with boosting health coverage in the U.S. expire at the end of this year. Democrats are preparing for a fight to keep these subsidies going amid GOP control of the House and Senate.
Led by Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) and Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), along with Rep. Lauren Underwood (D-Ill.), Democrats reintroduced legislation this week that would permanently extend the enhanced subsidies.
Democrats unsuccessfully tried to include a one-year extension into the year-end spending bill in December. The Biden administration has repeatedly called on Congress to either extend or make the subsidies permanent.
In a statement marking another record year of ACA enrollment, President Biden said, “I urge Congress to double down on the progress we have made and ensure Americans have access to quality, affordable health care by extending the ACA premium tax credit this year.”
But Republicans argue the tax credits are too costly and benefit those who don’t need them. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has said permanently extending the subsidies, which come in the form of tax credits, would cost $335 billion over the next 10 years.
The CBO also estimated last month that premiums would spike without the subsidies, and the number of uninsured Americans would increase by more than 2 million in 2026, 3.7 million in 2027 and then 3.8 million each year on average through 2034.
At the same time, the health industry is also mobilizing to protect the subsidies. Insurers and providers could lose billions of dollars if they expire.
At least one Republican, Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), has spoken in favor of extending the subsidies, telling the Alaska Beacon, “I look at this, and I would make the argument that you’ve got a lot of folks that have seen some real relief.”
