With Affordable Care Act tax subsidies set to expire at the end of the year, many Marketplace enrollees say they will either shop for a cheaper plan or drop health insurance altogether if the subsidies disappear.
According to new data from KFF, one in four Marketplace enrollees said they would be “very likely” to go without insurance if their premiums were to double next year. KFF also found that a third of enrollees would shop for a cheaper plan.
KFF says that 22 million of the 24 million Americans enrolled in the Marketplace exchange receive tax subsidies. Those 22 million Americans would see their premium payments jump from $888 to $1,904 per year.
The survey found that 58% of enrollees said they could not afford a $300 annual increase in premiums.
“The poll shows the range of problems Marketplace enrollees will face if the enhanced tax credits are not extended in some form, and those problems will be the poster child of the struggles Americans are having with health care costs in the midterms if Republicans and Democrats cannot resolve their differences,” KFF President and CEO Drew Altman said.
Those who use Affordable Care Act–subsidized plans have had their premiums capped based on total income. If a plan exceeded that cap, the enrollee received a tax credit.
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The tax credit is set to expire because a provision in the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 ends this year. Democrats have sought to extend the provision, but many Republicans have opposed continuing the subsidies.
Senate Democrats are poised to vote next week on extending the tax credits, but the bill is unlikely to gain traction in the House.
KFF’s poll of enrollees found that 95% of Democrats, 84% of independents and 72% of Republicans favor extending subsidies.
