Senators Murray and Schumer, Americans Who Rely on ACA Tax Credits Call on Republicans to Prevent Premiums from Skyrocketing for Millions
KFF: Most Republicans and MAGA Supporters Say Congress Should Extend the Enhanced ACA Tax Credits Set to Expire Next Year
KFF: ACA Marketplace Premium Payments Will More than Double on Average Next Year if Enhanced Premium Tax Credits Expire
WATCH: full press conference
Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee and a senior member and former chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, joined Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) for a virtual press conference on the 16th day of the Republican shutdown with Protect Our Care, and Washington state and New York residents who rely on Affordable Care Act (ACA) enhanced premium tax credits to afford health care.
“Republicans can’t just stick their heads in the sand. They can’t just say we will worry about it later. Families are facing this right now. Notices are in the mail at this very moment, telling families: ‘Hey, I’m sorry, but your monthly premium is going up by hundreds—maybe even thousands—of dollars.’ Window shopping begins in Washington state next week and is already underway in several states. People are logging on right now to see if the news is true, and they are seeing some eye-popping price hikes. This is happening across the country. Right now. I’ve spoken to people back in Washington state who are seeing the numbers and have no idea how they are going to afford health care if Republicans let their premiums double,” said Senator Murray. “So Republicans who think they can just stick their heads in the sand and ignore the chaos they caused are fooling no one except themselves. Certainly not the American people.”
For months, Republicans have refused to extend the ACA enhanced premium tax credits, and if they are not extended soon, 22 million Americans across the country—including more than 216,000 people in Washington state—will see their health care costs spike in January. According to KFF, premiums will more than double for Americans who buy health care through the ACA exchanges, and these higher costs will push 4.2 million people off their health coverage over the next decade—including an estimated 80,000 people in Washington state, where health insurers have been approved for an average rate hike of 21 percent. A Washington-state specific fact sheet on the ACA tax credits is HERE.
More than 3 in 4 people who get their health care through the ACA marketplaces—18.7 million out of 24.3 million—live in states President Trump won in 2024. The vast majority of Americans want Congress to renew the ACA tax credits, according to recent polling from KFF—including six in ten Republicans and a majority of Republicans who identify as MAGA. At the press conference, Senator Murray made it clear how inaction Republicans will force health care premiums to explode next year. She implored Republican leaders to come to the table as new signs indicate that Republicans are feeling that heat on their deeply unpopular position. In recent days, reporting has indicated that the White House is privately fretting about the issue, and President Trump signaled openness to cutting a deal. Meanwhile, some House Republicans have called out Republican leadership for causing the shutdown and failing to have a solution or plan to prevent people’s premiums from exploding.
“I'm a Commissioner for Three Rivers Hospital, a nonprofit, critical access, rural hospital in Brewster, Washington. Our diverse hospital district serves about 70% Medicare and Medicaid dependent patients and many more who rely upon insurance through the Affordable Care Act. So naturally, I'm quite concerned about extending the ACA tax credits for our patients, my constituents, my friends and neighbors. But it also hits me quite close to home, as for the past 40 years, my husband has worked now as the sole employee of a third generation mom-and-pop style building supply store and lumber yard. About a month ago, he received an email warning him that his ACA insurance was likely ending on December 31st due to a lack of funding and that the subsidized payments would not be extended. Currently, his subsidized out of pocket premiums are around $250 a month, which they tell us will increase to $349 a month, even if the credits are extended. Here's the kicker: that amount would increase threefold to $1,131 a month if the credits are not extended. This is around 25% of our combined monthly income just for his personal health care insurance. We simply can't afford this, so like many others, because, believe me, we're not alone, we will likely have to make the tough choice to go uninsured,” Leslie McNamara, Elected Commissioner of Three Rivers Hospital, whose husband is a small business owner in Brewster who relies on ACA tax credits to afford health care. “Ultimately, everyone suffers and everyone pays, and why? Because we can't balance the budget. Please find somewhere else to cut. Health care should be our number one priority… We claim to be a society of caring and compassionate people. Well, let's see President Trump and our elected legislators should care more about the affordability and needs of every citizen for health care in the United States, so I urge our politicians to join forces and give the American people a written guarantee to ensure affordable health care for all.”
“Republicans didn't see a problem in giving a massive tax break to people who don't need the money, but they're more than happy to shut down the government to force working people to lose their health insurance or make difficult choices about what they can afford in their lives,” said Protect Our Care Chair Leslie Dach. “This is a very simple problem to solve if Republicans are willing to solve it, but apparently they’re not, and the American people are going to burn with anger over this.”
Senator Murray has been speaking out nonstop about the urgent need to save health care and keep the government open and calling on Republicans to come to the negotiating table to work out a bipartisan deal—which they have so far refused to do. As the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee, Senator Murray leads legislation supported by the Democratic caucus that would reopen the government, address the health care crisis, and protect Congress’ power of the purse from Donald Trump and Russ Vought’s nonstop, lawless efforts to block funding from reaching communities across the country.
Senator Murray played a critical role in passing the enhanced premium tax credits in the American Rescue Plan Act in 2021 and extending them in the Inflation Reduction Act in 2022, and she has been fighting for months to make sure these important health care tax credits don’t expire, including cosponsoring multiple pieces of legislation—the Health Care Affordability Act and the Protecting Health Care and Lowering Costs Act—that would make them permanent.
Senator Murray’s remarks, as delivered on today’s press call, are below:
“Thank you to our leader, Senator Schumer, for heading up this fight, and thank you to Protect Our Care for organizing this hearing. It is so important to hear about the personal impact that these tax credits have on people.
“Republicans may have shut down the government to avoid talking about health care.
“But you know what is not shut down? Open enrollment. It started in Idaho yesterday.
“That means families across that state are staring down the cold hard cost of Republicans’ health care sabotage.
“There are 100,000 people in that state who rely on premium tax credits to afford their health care. And now, they are seeing these massive price hikes for their health care coverage because Republicans are refusing to act.
“They are seeing premiums double, triple, even quadruple for some families.
“And Idaho is really the canary in the coalmine, because open enrollment starts nationwide in just two weeks.
“And then this nightmare that Republicans are trying to just ignore will be a reality for families across the country.
“So, Republicans can’t just stick their head in the sand. They can’t just say we will worry about this later. Because families are facing this right now.
“Notices are in the mail at this very moment. Telling families: ‘Hey, I’m sorry, but your premium is going up by hundreds—maybe even thousands of dollars—a month.’
“Window shopping begins in Washington state next week and is already underway in several states.
“People are logging on right now to see if the news is true, and they are seeing some eye-popping price hikes. This is happening across the country, right now.
“I’ve spoken to many people back in Washington state who are seeing the numbers and they really have no idea how they are going to afford health care if Republicans let their premiums double.
“I’ve spoken to people in Idaho, and Montana, some of my Northwest neighbors, and I can tell you they are really worried.
“I would say this is hitting red states and blue states alike, but it’s actually hitting red states especially hard!
“Three-fourths of the people who rely on the ACA premium tax credits are in red states. And the ten states that families will see the highest price increases are red states.
“So Republicans who think they can just stick their heads in the sand and ignore the chaos they caused are fooling no one except themselves. And they are certainly not fooling the American people.
“Republicans cannot just ignore this problem, put their hands over their ears and shout, ‘later,’ ‘later,’ ‘later!’
“We have been warning them about this for months. It is too late for ‘later!’
“Notices are in the mail. Window shoppers are logging on right now. Open enrollment is starting.
“Every second that Republicans continue to delay, this problem will get harder to solve.
“We are here today to make sure they understand that. And to remind them that Democrats have always been at the table, ready to work on a solution. We want to reopen the government and address this health care crisis.”
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