Expanded ACA subsidies set to expire, leaving thousands of Wisconsinites at risk of losing coverage

In 2021, Congress passed premium tax credits expanded eligibility for reduced cost of Affordable Care Act healthcare plans. Initially, this was supposed to last until 2022, under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, but this was continued through 2025 via the FY2022 Budget Reconciliation Law, according to congress.gov. 

With the subsidies about to expire, health insurance plans are expected to rise in price. Around 300,000 people enrolled in these ACA plans are lower to middle class Wisconsinites, and many of these people may decide that healthcare will no longer be affordable to them without PTCs, UW Chair of the Risk and Insurance Department Justin Sydnor said.  

Within the past couple of weeks, insurance plans have risen by more than 30 percent, and Covering Wisconsin, an organization dedicated to connecting Wisconsinites with health insurance programs, is already hearing from Wisconsinites that they cannot afford these increases, according to Covering Wisconsin Enrollment, Network and Accessibility Manager Caroline Gomez-Tom.

“With the end of these enhanced premium tax credits, we’re already hearing from folks that they make go without [health insurance]…They have other bills to pay, they have food to put on the table,” said Gomez-Tom.