KFF: ACA Premiums Could More Than Double

A KFF analysis warns ACA marketplace premiums could more than double next year — rising roughly 114% (from $888 to nearly $1,900 annually) — if Congress does not renew enhanced premium tax credits that expire at year-end, affecting about 22 million Americans. Democrats are pushing to extend the subsidies during the current budget fight and before open enrollment, while many Republicans oppose tying the extension to the funding measure and may seek changes later. State officials say the harm will be acute in some places: Minnesota expects average individual-market premiums to increase about 22% and nearly 90,000 residents could be affected, and Vermont could lose roughly $65 million in aid for about 30,000 enrollees. The subsidy expiration would mostly hit people who buy individual coverage — entrepreneurs, small-business owners, gig workers and farmers (about 27% of farmers are in the individual market) — and would not affect Medicaid or Medicare enrollees. Progressive leaders Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez warned that premium notices could start reflecting doubled premiums in October and said the cuts would worsen an already costly U.S. health-care system.