“The Senate’s failure to extend Affordable Care Act tax credits will disproportionately harm older Americans insured under the ACA who have not yet reached the age for Medicare eligibility. ACA marketplace coverage is a linchpin for older adults who often cannot get affordable health insurance any other way. It is not only cruel to allow their premiums to skyrocket; it costs everyone in the long run. Older patients without insurance will be forced to use the emergency room for care, a cost that gets passed on to all health care consumers. They also will arrive at the doorstep of Medicare sicker or more disabled, which not only costs U.S. taxpayers more, but raises premiums for all other older Americans on Medicare.
Forty percent of ACA enrollees are aged 45 to 64. Without the extended ACA tax credits, these individuals (including farmers, ranchers, entrepreneurs, and small business owners), will see wholly unaffordable increases in premiums and be forced to downgrade or skip coverage altogether.
Extending these tax credits to keep Americans’ premiums from rising would have made simple common sense. Why would Senators vote to push people off health insurance instead of continuing to widen the net, when the ACA is so clearly beneficial, especially to older, more vulnerable enrollees? Make no mistake: In 2026, older voters will remember who fought to protect their health coverage and who abdicated that responsibility.” – Max Richtman, President and CEO, National Committee to Preserve Social Security & Medicare
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Media Inquiries:
Walter Gottlieb