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As the federal government shutdown enters its sixth week, Democrats in Washington and Raleigh are urging Congressional Republicans to work with them to extend tax credits and keep the cost of plans offered through the Affordable Care Act marketplace from skyrocketing.
Open enrollment for the individual health plans began over the weekend, with many North Carolinians experiencing sticker shock compared to previous years. At the same time the tax credits are expiring, premiums are also increasing sharply for many insurance enrollees.
U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar (Photo: Screen capture from press conference)U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) told reporters on a conference call Monday that over the past five years, the number of North Carolinians who have access to health care through the health insurance marketplace has almost doubled. Nearly 975,000 rely on the program today.
If Congress fails to extend the enhanced subsidies enacted during the COVID-19 pandemic, thousands may no longer be able to afford their coverage.
“A 60-year-old North Carolina couple earning about $83,000 a year could see their premiums increased by more than $18,000 a year, triple what they’re now paying,” warned Klobuchar.
“It is simply a gut punch that too many families simply can’t afford,” Klobuchar said.
The enhanced premium tax credits enabled small business owners and self-employed individuals to afford coverage. But state Senator Gladys Robinson (D-Guilford) worries that too could change if premiums rise.
Robinson said a family in her district earning $60,000 a year cannot afford rising health care premiums along with rising rent, food and childcare costs.
“So, they will have to let that health care go,” Robinson said. “And then their children will be sick. Their families will be sick. And it just will not work for families in North Carolina.”
Small business owner Daniel Ayers.Daniel Ayers said when he made a career pivot during the pandemic from being a classroom teacher to a small business owner, he turned to the ACA for coverage.
He credits the ability to afford coverage in the marketplace with changing his life back in the spring of 2023.
“I got injured. I needed knee surgery and without the coverage I got through the ACA, I would not have been able to afford that care,” Ayers said.
Ayers said as a small business owner, he would have been forced to delay treatment without coverage, possibly until the situation was much worse and required more invasive surgery.
On Monday, Ayers allowed himself to open up the healthcare.gov portal to take a look at what his 2026 premiums would be.
“To put it bluntly, I was stunned,” Ayers said. “The cost has gone up so much, now I do have to face it. Will I go without insurance next year? Just hoping I don’t get sick or injured.”
U.S. Senator Ted Budd (R-NC) suggested on social media that the rising health care costs could be attributed to structural flaws in Obamacare, costly new drugs, and surging medical costs “tied to Bidenflation.”
Robinson said Budd needs to remember the rural counties he represents.
State Senator Gladys Robinson (D-Guilford)“Those rural counties have farmers and small businesses, and everybody will be affected. While you work on improvements to the ACA, you need to make sure they continue to get health care coverage,” said Robinson.
Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) has urged his colleagues to embrace a two-year extension for the enhanced premium subsidies. Tillis told Bloomberg Government last week that failure to extend those credits would cost some voters their ACA coverage just before the midterms, a risky strategy for some U.S. House members facing re-election.
A KFF Health Tracking Poll released in early October found 78% of the public wants Congress to extend the enhanced tax credits to make the health coverage purchased through the ACA Marketplace more affordable. That includes 57% of those who identified as “Make American Great Again” supporters.
Klobuchar cautioned that with the open enrollment period here, North Carolinians are already pricing out their options, determining if they can afford coverage moving forward.
“This isn’t a December problem. It’s not a January problem. It’s a now problem.”
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