Ohioans โฃFace Steep Health Insurance Hikes as Federal Tax Credits Near Expiration
COLUMBUS, โOH – Millions of Ohioans are bracing for perhaps dramatic increases in healthโข insurance costs if Congress โฃfails โคto renew enhanced premiumโข tax credits currently available through the Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace. A new wave โof analysis from the โKaiser Family Foundation (KFF) and the Health policy Institute of Ohio paints a stark picture of rising premiumsโค and a potential surge in the uninsured rate.
Nationally, enrollmentโ in ACA marketplace plans hasโข more โฃthan doubled โคto over 24 โmillion people since the introduction of โthe enhanced โtaxโข credits. KFFโ dataโ shows these creditsโข have been instrumentalโ in affordability,keeping annual premiumโข payments in 2024 moreโฃ than 75% lower than they would be โwithoutโ them. However,โฃ those credits are set to expire, triggering meaningful cost increases for many.
“Enrollees with incomes around โ400% of theโ federalโ poverty line will be โsubject โคto large increasesโข in premium payments if enhanced premium tax credits expire,” KFF research warns.โฃ
The impact in Ohioโ isโฃ projected โขto be particularly acute. The Health Policy Institute ofโฃ Ohio reports โthat individuals utilizing the federal marketplace – asโข Ohio does notโข operate โits own stateโ exchange -โ could see โคpremiums jump by an average of 30%, the largest requested increase from insurers since 2018. States running theirโ own marketplacesโ anticipate increases of โ17%.
These increases translate to โฃsubstantial financial burdens for Ohio families. KFF โขestimates a 60-year-old โฃcouple earning โค$85,000 annually could face a premium increaseโฃ exceeding $22,000 in 2026 with the credits gone. Specific examples โfrom โthe Health โPolicy Institute ofโฃ Ohio illustrate the impact:
* โ A 27-year-old Ohioan โขearning $35,000โข per year โcould see premiums rise from $1,033โ to $2,615.
* A 35-year-old couple with a combinedโฃ income of $30,000 could goโข from paying nothing with theโ creditโฃ to payingโข over $1,100 annually.
Expertsโ fear many will be forced to โฃforgo โcoverage. The policy briefโข from theโข Healthโค Policyโฃ Institute of Ohio states that those previously enrolled in marketplace coverage are unlikely to qualify for Medicaid โdue to income levels and frequently enough lackโข employer-sponsored insurance,โ leaving them vulnerable to becoming uninsured. The Urban Institute estimates an additional 140,000 Ohioans could lose coverage, increasing the state’s uninsuredโ rate by 29%.
The rising costs are attributed to a โcombination of factors,โ including concerns about younger, healthier individualsโ dropping coverage with higher premiums, escalating hospital costs, increased demand for expensive pharmaceuticals, โand broader โeconomic pressures likeโข inflation, potential tariffs on medical supplies, โand labor shortages.
The โlooming changes come alongside โexisting challenges to healthcare access in Ohio. Medicaid has already โคexperienced cuts, including restrictions on funding โfor Planned Parenthood health clinics. โฃThese cuts โคhave led to staff reductions and even โฃfacilityโ closures within the Planned parenthood Southwest Ohio Region, impacting access to preventive and reproductive โhealthcare for a patient population wereโ Medicaid recipients comprise approximately 40%โค of clients.
Despite the potential consequences, the proposed changes to theโฃ ACA credits are occurring despiteโข widespread public support for their renewal. โThe future of theseโ credits, andโข the affordability of health insurance for millions of Ohioans, remainsโค uncertain as Congressโฃ weighs its options.
