COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KOAA) — Affordable Care Act subsidies are set to expire on December 31st, potentially causing insurance premiums to more than double for nearly 22 million people across the United States.
"Why put the American people through more chaos, more uncertainty, more anxiety, more cruelty," said Illinois Representative Lauren Underwood.
Premium tax credits have been available since 2014, with Congress adding a temporary expansion in 2021 as part of COVID-19 relief. The goal was to lower healthcare costs for Americans struggling to make ends meet.
Currently, people earning above 400% of the federal poverty level — about $63,000 for one person or $129,000 for a family of four — do not qualify for premium assistance.
"These are families who will be forced to make a choice between their mortgage payment or a doctor's visit, between taking a 2nd or 3rd job, or spending more time at home with their kids," Underwood said.
Middle income households, early retirees, and small businesses could be hit the hardest once the extension comes to an end. But what do Colorado lawmakers have to say about the looming expiration?
Republican Congressman Jeff Crank opposes extending the subsidies, arguing they benefit higher-income earners at the expense of working families.
"I just think it's wrong to take money out of the pockets of someone who makes $60,000 or $70,000 working hard to give it to someone who makes $250,000 so that they can get a 5% reduction on their health insurance," Crank said.
Crank believes the subsidies, which affect 7% of the population and would decrease premiums by about 5%, are not a real solution to healthcare affordability.
"It's a broken system. We need to fix that system, not keep subsidizing that system," Crank said.
He says extending premium tax credits is a band-aid approach and a temporary fix.
Democratic Representative Joe Neguse disagrees with Republican alternatives to the ACA subsidies.
"This is it. Junk plans and insurance premiums that would increase over time and hundreds of thousands of Americans that would lose the healthcare access that they so vitally need. There is a better way," Neguse said.
The House will be voting on a potential 3-year extension in 2026 after four Republicans signed a discharge petition. The vote is expected to take place in January.
"I have no doubt that given how high the stakes are, when this measure gets back over to the Senate, they will do the right thing and ultimately, this will get to the President's desk for his signature," Neguse said.
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