The affordability of health care for millions of Americans who buy their policies on the Affordable Care Act exchange remains uncertain Tuesday, after a handful of Senate Democrats broke ranks to join Republicans in voting to end the government shutdown without securing an extension of health care subsidies.
Under the deal, Senate Republican leaders pledged to hold a vote on extending the subsidies in December – though it’s unclear whether the vote would be successful, nor if House leadership will do the same.
As the vote to end the shutdown now heads to the House, the News4 I-Team took a look at how many people in D.C. and neighboring states could see their premiums rise if the subsidies are allowed to expire.
By the numbers
More than 682,000 people in D.C., Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia bought their health care this year on the ACA exchange, according to data from the independent Kaiser Family Foundation.
According to Kaiser, a large percentage of those people received the advance premium tax credits this year to lower their monthly costs:
- D.C.: 28%
- Maryland: 78%
- Virginia: 87%
- West Virginia: 98%
Though Democrats have led the charge to extend the subsidies, Kaiser found about 80% of those premium tax credits – about $115 billion – went to policy holders in states won last year by President Donald Trump.
According to Kaiser, a 60-year-old couple making $85,000 a year would see their premiums increase by an average of $1,900 per month.
That number can rise dramatically depending on where the policy holder lives – especially in states that didn’t expand Medicaid coverage.
District divide
The I-Team analyzed the numbers by congressional district to see who would benefit from extending the subsidies.
According to Kaiser, two of the congressional districts that will see the highest increases anywhere in the country are in West Virginia, a red state, where Kaiser found premiums could rise nearly $4,000 a month for that 60-year-old couple – from $602 for a Benchmark Silver Plan with subsidies to as much as $4,540 without it.
In Virginia, where Democrats hold a one congressional seat edge over Republicans, every congressional district would see increases between roughly $1,200 and $1,400 dollars for that 60-year-old couple.
In Maryland, all but one congressional district is controlled by Democrats. There, Kaiser found the increases would be lower for that same 60-year-old couple but still increase by about $1,100 per month.
If you buy your health care on the exchange, are your premiums rising? You can reach out to News4’s Ted Oberg on social media @tedNBC4.
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