FRESH WARNINGS OF 'RIPPLES' THROUGHOUT STATES' HEALTH CARE INFRASTRUCTURE IF CONGRESS LETS THE HEALTH CARE TAX CREDITS EXPIRE

The following information was released by America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP):

News reports in states throughout the nation are shedding additional light on the negative consequences Americans will experience if Congress fails to extend the enhanced premium tax credits that have made high-quality health care coverage affordable for more than 22 million people.

Beyond the immediate consequencesmillions of Americans facing steep premium increases that may cause many to lose coverage altogetherthe ripple effects of Congressional inaction threaten to destabilize states' health care infrastructure and drive out-of-pocket health care costs higher for all consumers.

Georgia:

"Current projections are that without such action, 450,000 Georgians will be forced to drop their insurance coverage through the ACA because they can no longer afford it, and that in turn will send ripples throughout the state's health care infrastructure. According to a second analysis, this one by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, that would mean a loss of $1.6 billion in revenue to hospitals and other health-delivery systems in Georgia, with particular impact on struggling rural hospitals." (Georgia Recorder, 10/09/2025)

Ohio:

"Ohioans under Obamacare to see health costs spike or lose coverage if tax credits expire ... 'You're avoiding going to the doctor... because you know that you're going to pay a really big bill if you end up there,' he said. 'That disease that might have been really easy or preventable to treat can develop into something much more severe. And then that patient ends up in the emergency room.' ... Hospitals will still bill the patient without insurance, but they'll also eat the cost since the patient can't pay, [Health Policy Institute of Ohio expert Brian] O'Rourke pointed out. To compensate for more uninsured, unpaid care, providers are likely to raise the costs of medical care overall." (The Columbus Dispatch, 10/11/2025)

Virginia:

"'People who are going into emergency rooms for care because they are no longer able to end up having insurance for small problems, and those small problems become big problems, and they are going to overwhelm our free clinics, federally qualified health centers, and ERs,' [chief administrative officer of Daily Planet Health Services Brent] Mast said." (WWBT Richmond, 10/13/2025)

Kansas:

"Without congressional action, tens of thousands of Kansas will lose access to affordable health coverage ... If allowed to expire, families across our stateespecially in rural areascould lose their coverage or face impossible premium hikes." (Kansas Health Care Providers, 09/24/2025)

Washington:

"People without insurance often delay seeking care until it is absolutely necessary, forgoing less expensive preventive care until they wind up in emergency rooms. For hospitals, many of which are already struggling and have experienced layoffs in recent months, that means more charity care, services provided to the uninsured without payment ... Small business owners, those who are self-employed, contractors, as well as individuals who retired before they are Medicare eligible, frequently rely on the marketplace to buy insurance. Rural areas have the highest percentage of people benefiting enhanced premium tax credit." (Kitsap Sun, 10/13/2025)

Go Deeper: Get the facts on the health care tax credits here.

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