DES MOINES, Iowa (Gray Media Iowa State Capitol Bureau) -- As often as is the case, Americans find themselves in the middle of a political disagreement between the two major political parties. It comes down to cost vs. cost: taxpayer cost vs. individual’s costs.
Republicans have yet to take action to prevent enhanced tax credits under the Affordable Care Act -- A.K.A. “Obamacare” -- from expiring at the end of the year.
Enhanced Premimum Tax Cuts Expansion
Congress previously expanded the credits following the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021 and later extended them in the Inflation Reduction Act in 2022.
KFF, a non-partisan health policy research, polling and news organization, said the expanded credits helped raise the total number of Americans covered under the ACA from 11 to 24 million.
But those credits were only temporary. Democrats insist that Republicans in Congress extend the credits again.
It is one of the health care-related disagreements the parties are having over federal funding, which they need to resolve to completely reopen the federal government.
The Congressional Budget Office estimates that extending the tax credits could cost $350 billion over the next decade.
Expected Health Insurance Cost Increases
KFF has analyzed the data on how costs would rise if people who currently receive enhanced tax credits lost some or all of them.
- An individual making $28,000 per year would pay $1,238 more per year.
- A family of four making $75,000 per year would pay $3,368 more annually.
- A 60-year-old couple earning $85,000 would see an increase of $22,600 per year.
KFF research found that the average premium would more than double if the tax credits expire.
Check how much your coverage would increase according to KFF here.
U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, a Republican from South Dakota, has said that his party is willing to discuss extending some of the tax credits, but he does not want them to be part of the discussions to reopen the federal government.
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