ACA PREMIUMS SET TO RISE HUNDREDS A MONTH 275K IN STATE WOULD SEE DRAMATICALLY HIGHER COSTS IF CREDITS EXPIRE

MADISON - Premiums for 275,000 Wisconsinites enrolled in the Affordable Care Act health insurance marketplace could rise by hundreds of dollars a month next year if Congress allows tax credits meant to keep plans affordable to expire, according to projections Gov. Tony Evers' office released Monday.

On average, expanded tax credits under the Affordable Care Act had been saving people $664 a month on their health care plans. With those credits expiring, there's not a standard increase people can expect, but premiums are due to rise fastest for older residents and families.

A family of four across the state making $130,000 can expect monthly premium increases of more than $1,000; for a 60-year-old couple, their monthly premiums could jump between $1,600 and $2,700 a month. A 26-year-old who is on their first health insurance plan will see a monthly increase of between $111 and $178.

Wisconsin's Democratic federal lawmakers decried the price increases on Monday, stating that those rates will cause people to reconsider whether it's worth even having health insurance at all. In some areas, like in Fond du Lac County, insurers are dropping out of the ACA marketplace because of the cost of the unsubsidized health plans.

"For more than 275,000 Wisconsinites, care is about to get drastically more expensive," U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin said during a press conference. "This is like taking the entire population of Madison, or the combined population of Green Bay, Kenosha and Appleton, and saying they all have to pay potentially thousands more every year for health care. All the while, 30,000 of them are poised to just not be able to pay at all."

Open enrollment for the ACA insurance market starts Nov. 1, giving federal lawmakers less than a week to come to an agreement before people start purchasing their insurance.

A disagreement over whether or not to extend ACA tax credits, which were expanded in 2021 to reach more people, is at the core of the current federal government shutdown. The expanded tax credits are set to expire in 2025, and were not extended in the budget reconciliation bill passed in July.

Democrats have refused to budge in providing Senate Republicans the support needed to reach a 60-vote threshold without extended health care tax credits. Republicans say Democrats want to expand health care to people who are not citizens, but that's misleading: People who are not U.S. citizens cannot access any government-based health insurance plans such as Medicaid, Medicare or subsidized ACA plan, and the law requiring hospitals that receive Medicaid dollars to treat anyone, regardless of ability to pay or citizenship status, was signed by President Ronald Reagan.

And while Democrats could sign on to a clean bill to reopen the government, Baldwin says she doesn't trust Republicans who say they'll come back to the negotiating table later on ACA tax credits. Top Republicans, including President Donald Trump, have directed members of their caucuses not to negotiate with Democrats, Baldwin said.

"That's not how we govern," Baldwin said. "We need to end this crisis by extending these tax credits and give Americans some more breathing room in their budgets."

Nearly 78% of Americans support extending the expanded tax credits, as well as 60% of Republicans, Evers said.

The issue has drawn attention from far-right U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who is breaking with her party as she says her own children's monthly premiums for health insurance are set to double.

Kyle LaFond, owner of hygiene manufacturing company American Provenance, relies on the ACA for his health insurance, as do his eight employees.

His health insurance premiums are going to double without federal subsidies; his employees are looking at annual increases of up to $12,000, LaFond told reporters earlier this month during a press conference organized by U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Black Earth.

"For a growing family, those price hikes are almost insurmountable," LaFond said. "The ACA really leveled the playing field in terms of able to provide coverage where I couldn't. I searched for years to find plans or programs that would work for all of my employees. With the ACA subsidies expiring, I might lose some good people."