ACA marketplace premiums expected to spike if enhanced tax credit not extended

As the federal government shutdown debate continues over the continuation of enhanced ACA marketplace subsidies, Ohio plans have signaled that marketplace premiums in the state could spike next year without an extension of the credits (Source: “As expiration of tax credits loom, Ohio insurers ask for big increases,” Ohio Capital Journal, Oct. 3).
 
The federal government shut down at midnight on Wednesday as Democrats and Republicans failed to agree on a spending plan. Democrats are demanding that the GOP roll back cuts made to the “enhanced premium tax credit” as part of HR 1, the federal reconciliation bill sometimes referred to as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The credit was created during the COVID-19 pandemic to subsidize premiums for insurance on the exchanges created under the ACA.
 
A new KFF report found that premiums for insurance purchased on the exchanges nationally “will more than double” if the subsidies are allowed to expire at the end of the year. As with the cost of health care, the size of the subsidies has grown annually, so their expiration means bigger losses for recipients going forward, the KFF report said.
 
In Ohio, eight companies are offering 17 plans for 2026. All are proposing premium increases ranging from 2.5% to 42%.
 
In August, HPIO released a fact sheet that provides a high-level summary of several provisions of HR 1, along with information about related changes contained in HB 96, the state biennial budget bill.