'HOW CAN I TAKE CARE OF MYSELF?': AMERICANS FACE COVERAGE LOSS, UNAFFORDABLE CONSEQUENCES IF CONGRESS FAILS TO EXTEND THE HEALTH CARE TAX CREDITS

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

As open enrollment begins this weekend, news reports from across the country continue to show why Congress must act as soon as possible to protect 24 million Americans from the largest health care cost spike in American history, which would cause many to lose coverage altogether.

Florida:

As many as a third of the 4.7 million Floridians on Affordable Care Act plans could drop them next year because of the higher costs, according to some estimates. Franoise Cham, who is 63 and self-employed in the Miami suburbs, hopes she will be able to afford coverage until she can sign up for Medicare at 65 Lorraine Avila, a 46-year-old housekeeper in Miami, thinks she is likely to give up coverage altogether, which terrifies her. I take care of my kids and my grandkids,' Ms. Avila said. If I don't have insurance, how can I take care of myself?' (New York Times, 10/25/25)

Arkansas:

Ginny Murray says she and her husband, Chaz, are out of options for health insurance. In January, their premiums are expected to rise higher than they've ever gone up before, putting the cost out of reach. The Arkansas couple plan to drop their coverage and really just hoping that we don't have a stroke or we don't have a heart attack What other choice do we have?' Murray said. (NBC News, 10/22/25)

Maine:

[Chloe] Chalakani runs a small culinary business with her partner in the coastal town of Thomaston, Maine Her options for 2026 are looking grim. My premium is already $460 a month, and that is for the highest deductible plan that exists,' she says. She's 31 years old and fairly healthy. Extra financial help with premiums in the form of enhanced tax credits expires in December, and rates are going up. I don't plan to get insurance next year,' she says The prospect of young people dropping out of the ACA markets worries health policy experts not just because of their own personal risk of going uninsured, but because of the effect that millions of people making the same decision could have on the whole health system. (NPR, 10/26/25)

Colorado:

Approaching 60 and dealing with what she described as a slight chronic inflammatory condition, [Kelli] Fritts, a former health insurance broker, needs access to health care Fritts estimates she will pay $1,050.01 a month next year to keep her current plan, a 2,973% increase Insurers predict that those dropping coverage will be disproportionately healthier meaning they are cheaper to insure. That creates what is known in the industry as 'adverse selection.' The remaining people in the insurance pool are also more costly to cover, creating a loop that drives up prices, which causes even more people to drop coverage. (Colorado Sun, 10/27/25)

The Big Picture: Without Congressional action, millions of lower- and middle-income Americans will face unaffordable costs and consequences throughout 2026, and families will either pay steeply higher costs they can't afford or lose coverage entirely.

As NPR reports, If you only have sick people buying health insurance plans, then the average cost of that plan is going to be very high,' [Cynthia Cox of KFF] says. The concern is that the least sick person in that group is going to drop their coverage because it becomes unaffordable, and then the next year, the least sick person in that group might drop their coverage because it becomes unaffordable and on and on.'

Health plans and state-based marketplace officials have made clear there's still time for Congress to protect millions of Americans from the largest health care cost spike in our nation's history.

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