Absent Congressional action, many consumers will see health-coverage costs skyrocket next year, Biden administration officials warned Wednesday.
The American Rescue Plan, signed into law in March 2021, temporarily expanded premium tax credits available to consumers signing up for health coverage through the Affordable Care Act marketplaces. Those expanded tax credits are set to expire at the end of this year, and extending them would require Congressional legislation.
“Time is of the essence,” Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said on a call with reporters Wednesday. As this fall’s open enrollment for 2023 marketplace coverage draws near, “we want to make sure that people know the subsidies will be in place,” she said.
A record 14.5 million people signed up for coverage through the marketplaces during the open enrollment period that ended in January. The average monthly 2022 premium for HealthCare.gov enrollees was $111. Without the