Healthcare Costs Set to Surge as ACA Subsidies Face Expiration
Millions of Americans who rely on Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies are bracing for potentially dramatic increases in healthcare costs next month as those subsidies are set to expire. NPR spoke with individuals across the country facing significant premium hikes and tough choices about their healthcare and financial futures.
Chris O’Donnell of Richmond, Virginia, anticipates his family’s monthly insurance cost will rise by $1,300. “With my wife’s diabetes and also her being a cancer survivor, not having insurance is just fully out of the question,” O’Donnell said, explaining he may forgo retirement savings to cover the increased premium. He and his wife are even considering retiring in a country with more stable healthcare costs.
In Siren, Wisconsin, Genna Boatright, 40, faces a potential doubling of her insurance costs without the tax credit. “I don’t really no what my coverage will look like,other than the preliminary numbers are showing that without the tax credit,it will be 100% increased. And that I absolutely cannot afford,” she stated. Boatright, who has an aggressive case of rheumatoid arthritis, expressed fear about potential disability if she loses access to necessary care and medication.
Ezra McKay, a bookseller in his 20s from Memphis, Tennessee, has benefited from extensive coverage under the ACA. His premium is expected to jump from $15 per month to $550 – nearly half his monthly income. “All of my prescriptions are covered, and a lot of my doctor’s visits are covered too, which has just been such a relief over the last year. It’s just kind of made me feel, like, important and valid, like I deserve to exist or something like that,” McKay shared. Diagnosed with bipolar disorder,he worries about the consequences of potential unmedication,stating,”I woudl be in an extremely bad situation of having difficulty maintaining my job,maintaining my house,maybe even having a life-threatening situation,if I were to have a mental health crisis due to being unmedicated.” McKay is exploring relocation to states like California or Washington, which offer more robust state-level coverage programs.
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