Sarah Lueck

With more than 20M marketplace enrollees waiting for a solution, a clean extension of the premium tax credits is the fastest and best move right now.

Cash accounts are being floated but details are scarce. They are unlikely to be sufficient to help people afford premiums for comprehensive coverage or to cover high deductibles or for a hospital bill or other major care.

Will it reduce people’s out of pocket costs? If it prods more people into high deductible plans, then many will face higher costs & greater risk of forgoing needed care or going into debt.https://bsky.app/profile/jenniferlsullivan.bsky.social/post/3m6fr7o66i22r

Will the White House proposal stop people’s premiums from rising? The lowest income people could pay more, as noted. It’s counterintuitive, but funding costsharing reductions would shrink PTC amounts, increasing many people’s premiums.

And millions more people are already set to become uninsured in coming years as a result of #Medicaid and marketplace cuts in the harmful megabill.https://www.cbpp.org/research/health/by-the-numbers-harmful-republican-megabill-will-take-health-coverage-away-from

People With Low Incomes May Lose $0 Premium Plans — a Lifeline — Unless Congress Acts Without congressional action, PTC enhancements will expire at the end of 2025. This will cause millions —many of these lowest-income enrollees especially — to become uninsured, or to face impossible c...

Will the proposal protect millions of people who would otherwise become uninsured? Requiring minimum premium amounts and eliminating $0 plans means that more people (the lowest income people) would lose coverage. Even small premium amounts are a barrier. www.cbpp.org/blog/people-...

Time is short for Congress and President Trump to stop marketplace price spikes. People who want coverage Jan 1 have to enroll by Dec 15. Any deal needs to prevent people from becoming uninsured, reduce people’s costs for affordable, comprehensive coverage, & happen quickly

Reports that the White House is working on a proposal to extend premium tax credit enhancements shows the Administration is acknowledging the urgent need to address premium spikes for millions of marketplace enrollees. But big questions remain.🧵

The GAO released a report last week on health savings accounts (HSAs) reaffirming that HSAs do little to help people with low and moderate incomes – who would be hurt the most if Congress lets premium tax credit enhancements expire.

Some recent Republican responses to the marketplace premium tax credit issue would shift more people to bronze plans with Health Savings Accounts as an alternative to silver plans with PTC enhancements and cost sharing reductions. So how do these plans stack up in real terms?

It's unclear how much support the Scott proposal has. But it’s still not a response to the imminent issue of premium tax credit enhancements expiring this year. And it wouldn’t make health care more affordable.

Despite inserting “freedom” into the text, the bill devotes pages to blocking people from making decisions about their own care with their doctors, barring the Trump accounts from being used for insurance plans that cover abortion or gender affirming care for transgender people.

A state could eliminate key provisions of the ACA for all residents. This could mean the end of essential health benefits that are core to protecting people with pre-existing conditions, limits on high out of pocket costs, or insurance marketplaces where people compare plans.

The latest: a new bill from Florida Sen. Scott’s would let states waive federal premium tax credits, affordability standards, and core protections for people with pre existing conditions —shifting funds into individual “Trump” accounts. www.rickscott.senate.gov/services/fil...

Here they go again: Republicans in Congress are reviving the ACA repeal debate. After enacting unprecedented cuts to Medicaid, they are looking for ways to eliminate federal premium tax credits that some help about 20M people afford marketplace plans.

Check out @centeronbudget.bsky.social's new graphics -- examples of the cost increases that marketplace enrollees in all 50 states and D.C. will face if Congress doesn't extend premium tax credit enhancements. h/t @gidlukens.bsky.social www.cbpp.org/research/res...

How concerned are people about rising health insurance premiums? With premium tax credit enhancements about to expire and ACA marketplace open enrollment underway, search volumes for terms like “health premium increase” are (almost) off the charts.

With many people already seeing higher rates & open enrollment starting Nov 1, congressional R leaders & President Trump should work w/ Ds to reach an agreement now. Action has already been delayed too long.

The pressure continues to mount for Congress and the Trump admin to address rising health care premiums for marketplace plans. The harm is already hitting, as people look at what they'll pay for 2026 — much higher, often unaffordable, costs. bsky.app/profile/gidl...

Sahil Kapur on X: "I asked @SpeakerJohnson if he wants to repeal Obamacare. Here’s his full 5+ minute response. https://t.co/mfw1Mtilla" / X I asked @SpeakerJohnson if he wants to repeal Obamacare. Here’s his full 5+ minute response. https://t.co/mfw1Mtilla

Yesterday, Speaker Johnson seemed wistful about Republicans’ failed 2017 effort to repeal the #ACA (the law that originally created the credits). “...It’s a great frustration of mine and it’s always been of President Trump’s,” he said. x.com/sahilkapur/s...

Erik Wasson on X: "SCALISE takes hard line against extending ACA subsidies. Calls Obamacare a “sink hole”. Says answer is association health plans and HSA accounts" / X SCALISE takes hard line against extending ACA subsidies. Calls Obamacare a “sink hole”. Says answer is association health plans and HSA accounts

Rep. Scalise, a member of R leadership, came out against an extension and said 90% of his House R colleagues share that view. x.com/elwasson/sta...

Mike Johnson raises fresh doubts about an Obamacare compromise The speaker questioned whether there is “any version of a reform that could find consensus and pass.“

Speaker Johnson cast new doubt on Friday about the prospects for stopping the premium shock by extending premium credit enhancements, saying “if there is even any version of a reform that could find consensus and pass” www.politico.com/live-updates...

Republican leaders in Congress say they will address marketplace health care premium increases once the government is re-opened. But it’s hard to square that commitment with some of their recent comments.

But most people in the U.S. already have far too much skin in the game when it comes to health costs. To improve health care access and affordability, it’s critical to secure an extension of premium tax credit enhancements and build from there.

Jake Sherman on X: ""There are reforms that need to be made. There should be income limits. There shouldn't be any premium free policies. Everybody should have some skin in the game. They ought to restructure it so it's not being payments made from the federal government to insurance companies who" / X "There are reforms that need to be made. There should be income limits. There shouldn't be any premium free policies. Everybody should have some skin in the game. They ought to restructure it so it's not being payments made from the federal government to insurance companies who

Even as some Republicans say they are willing to negotiate on premium credit enhancements, but some only want a deal if the lowest income people pay higher costs. Sen. Thune said these folks should “have some skin in the game.” x.com/JakeSherman/...

Even small premium amounts can mean the difference between having coverage and going uninsured. For people with low incomes (around $16K-$22K/year for an individual),having to pay a premium, plus copays and other costs, adds affordability challenges and red tape. bsky.app/profile/nico...

People With Low Incomes May Lose $0 Premium Plans — a Lifeline — Unless Congress Acts | Center on Budget and Policy Priorities Without congressional action, PTC enhancements will expire at the end of 2025. This will cause millions —many of these lowest-income enrollees especially — to become uninsured, or to face impossible c...

If premium tax credit enhancements expire, millions of people with the lowest incomes would lose $0 premium plans and be at risk of becoming uninsured. Gains in coverage, especially in states that haven’t expanded #Medicaid, would be at risk. www.cbpp.org/blog/people-...

Attn: Idaho
Marketplace enrollees in the Gem State are facing big premium increases if Congress does not act.

People With Low Incomes May Lose $0 Premium Plans — a Lifeline — Unless Congress Acts | Center on Budget and Policy Priorities Everyone should be able to get the health care they need to thrive, and for that to happen, it must be affordable, high quality, and easily accessible for all. Premium tax credit (PTC) enhancements...

NEW from @centeronbudget.bsky.social: Without Congressional action, premium tax credit enhancements will expire, raising costs for nearly all marketplace enrollees and putting millions of those with the lowest incomes at risk of becoming uninsured when they lose $0 premium plans.

Five Key Changes to ACA Marketplaces Amid Uncertainty Over Premium Tax Credit Enhancements | Center on Budget and Policy Priorities Recent policy changes, most notably enhancements to premium tax credits to reduce enrollees’ health insurance premiums, have driven record-breaking enrollment gains and delivered reduced costs, simpli...

NEW from @jenniferlsullivan.bsky.social and me for @centeronbudget.bsky.social: With Congress poised to take away premium tax credit enhancements soon, ~4M people will lose coverage and costs will rise for nearly all ACA marketplace enrollees unless Congress acts.🧵