The Tamesis
Today, the window for Americans to enroll in Affordable Care Act health plans has closed in most states, leaving millions of Americans in limbo as Congress weighs whether to enroll in Affordable Care Act health plans. Expand tax subsidies Designed to reduce the cost of Obamacare insurance.
For months, Congress has been engaged in a showdown over the fate of the ACA’s enhanced premium tax credit. Expires December 31st. this Subsidy battle It was at the center of the longest government shutdown in U.S. history, which lasted six weeks.
house approved a measure Last week, the tax credit was extended for three years after 17 Republicans joined Democrats to force a vote on the issue. However, the extension faces a tough test in the Republican-controlled Senate, which previously rejected a separate plan to extend the credit by three years.
A bipartisan group of lawmakers is working on a compromise that would extend Affordable Care Act subsidies for two years, but Republican senators said Thursday that Progress has stalled.
Separately, President Trump announced Thursday healthcare advice The White House said it would “send money directly to the American people, lower health insurance premiums and reduce rebates that drive up premiums.”
In the meantime, Americans need to make decisions about their insurance coverage. The deadline to sign up for health insurance through the ACA marketplaces is January 15 for most states. However, 10 states are offering extended enrollment windows to give residents more time to choose a plan.
According to healthinsurance.org, states extending ACA enrollment deadlines:
- California: January 31
- Connecticut: January 31
- District of Columbia: January 31
- Massachusetts: January 23
- Illinois: January 31
- New Jersey: January 31
- New York: January 31
- Pennsylvania: January 31
- Rhode Island: January 31
- Virginia: January 30
For those not yet enrolled in an ACA plan, the higher cost is certainly a consideration. KFF, a nonprofit health organization, previously estimated that Obamacare premiums could more than double this year if Congress fails to act, with more than 20 million Americans previously receiving tax credits.
“The end of open enrollment in many states and the latest enrollment numbers confirm what people across the country are feeling: We are in a health care affordability crisis,” said Michelle Sternthal, interim senior director of policy and strategy at Community Catalyst, a health care advocacy group. “When Congress failed to extend the enhanced premium tax credit, premiums soared overnight.”
Some people are dropping ACA coverage because of rising costs. Stacy Kanas, a 59-year-old Florida resident, told CBS News that her family was abandoning their ACA plan after learning their premiums would skyrocket.
“That’s why we’re not choosing to accept insurance right now,” she said. “The cost is too high.”
According to a recent analysis by the Urban Institute, ACA premiums for “silver” plans – the second-lowest-cost Obamacare coverage – will rise nearly 22% by 2026. By comparison, the nonpartisan think tank expects health insurance premiums for employer-sponsored plans to rise no more than 7% this year.
Data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services show that as of Jan. 12, 22.8 million people were enrolled in ACA marketplace plans, 1.4 million fewer Americans than were enrolled in Obamacare, known as health plans, a year ago.
Can Congress extend credits after open enrollment ends?
Experts note that technically Congress has not extended the deadline for Affordable Care Act tax credits, leaving the door open for congressional remedies.
“ACA premium subsidies are refundable tax credits that are calculated on an annual basis. Therefore, they may be extended even after the enrollment deadline and are retroactive to January 1,” Larry Levitt, executive vice president of health policy at KFF, said in a December blog post.
Levitt said if the points are retained, state and federal ACA marketplaces will update their systems and open enrollment will be extended to give people more time to sift through plan options. However, Levitt said things could become more difficult if a resolution is introduced later this year.
“Any mid-year changes to the Affordable Care Act tax credit would complicate logistics and slow the pace of reopening enrollment and premium relief,” he said in a post.
