ICYMI: 'WITH HEALTH CARE TAX CREDITS SET TO EXPIRE, PAIN SETS IN FOR ONE NEW HAMPSHIRE BUSINESS'

The following information was released by the office of New Hampshire Rep. Chris Pappas:

Expiration of ACA Marketplace enhanced premium tax credits is causing health care premiums for employers to skyrocket, not just individuals who purchase insurance through the ACA

In case you missed it, yesterday Congressman Chris Pappas (NH-01) visited the W.H. Bagshaw Company in Hudson, one of New Hampshire's small manufacturers. Pappas met with leadership and staff, toured their facility, and discussed the negative impacts of expected increases in health care costs on their business.

Last week W.H. Bagshaw received notice that the annual premium for their health care plan would increase by approximately 38% in 2026. In explaining the increase, their health insurance provider directly attributed the change in cost to the elimination of the Affordable Care Act enhanced premium tax credits coming at the end of the year, and the resulting decline in individual market membership.

Key Excerpts:

Last week, W.H. Bagshaw, a metal parts manufacturer based in Hudson, found out that its health insurance policies with Anthem would increase approximately 38% in 2026. Anthem specifically cited the expiration of Affordable Care Act tax credits at the center of the current federal government shutdown.

Nearly 50,000 people in New Hampshire used the credits in 2025, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. They're set to expire in December, and when they do, premiums are expected to skyrocket.

Some experts have warned the expiration could impact more than just those using the subsidies. As their premiums skyrocket, many healthy people who use the credits will likely forgo coverage. That in turn affects insurance companies' bottom lines, and so rates will go up for customers like W.H. Bagshaw and other employers.

U.S. Rep. Chris Pappas, who visited W.H. Bagshaw Thursday, said he's heard from a lot of businesses and constituents that their premiums are rising. Pappas, whose family owns the Puritan restaurant in Manchester, evoked his own health insurance experiences as an employer.

"It was customary that you would sort of see a 10, 12, 15% increase on an annual basis," Pappas said. "And, you know, you just sort of got used to that, and would have to factor that into your planning, but we never saw anything like 40% that's crazy."

"By not renewing the tax credits for ACA plans, it's having a ripple effect across markets," [Pappas] said. "And so whether you have an individual policy or are on a group plan, insurance costs are going to go up. You're going to have people dropping their insurance. That's going to impact all of us."