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Senate Republicans just voted to allow Americans’ health care premiums to spike in 2026, neglecting the needs of their own constituents. On Thursday, the Senate failed to reach the 60-vote threshold to extend crucial Affordable Care Act (ACA) tax credits, forcing the program’s nearly 24 million enrollees to navigate premiums that could double or even triple in 2026. In a Thursday news release, our President and CEO, Max Richtman called ACA marketplace coverage “a linchpin for older adults who often cannot get affordable health insurance any other way.”
Adults between the ages 45 and 64 account for 40 percent of ACA enrollees. Advocates worry that this group will lose their insurance and be compelled to rely on emergency room care, “a cost that gets passed on to all health care consumers,” noted Richtman. When today’s “near seniors” become eligible for Medicare at age 65, they will inevitably be in worse health than if they had been able to keep their ACA policies, putting additional strain on that program.
Following the vote, Congressman (and ‘‘You Earned This’ Podcast guest) Brendan Boyle (D-PA) excoriated Republicans for ‘kicking people off their coverage”:::
Instead of taking the commonsense step of extending the ACA tax credits, Republicans toyed with weak alternatives that would benefit big banking and insurance companies more than workers and families. The GOP alternative on offer Thursday would have replaced ACA tax credits (which have been working effectively to expand access to health insurance) with privatized Health Savings Accounts (HSA’s). According to a November 2025 report from Senate Finance Committee Democrats:::
“(The HSA) gambit would funnel funds necessary for health insurance to the nation’s largest banks and insurance companies through tax-preferred accounts, while raising premiums and decreasing payouts.” Senate Finance Committee, Minority Report
President Trump even tried to deflect this inconvenient truth during one of his signature late night tirades on Truth Social: “THE ONLY HEALTHCARE I WILL SUPPORT OR APPROVE IS SENDING THE MONEY DIRECTLY BACK TO THE PEOPLE, WITH NOTHING GOING TO THE BIG, FAT, RICH INSURANCE COMPANIES, WHO HAVE MADE $TRILLIONS, AND RIPPED OFF AMERICA LONG ENOUGH.”
Well, Mr. President, it seems as though the opposite has happened.
Rather than accept this insufficient “replacement” for expiring ACA credits, NCPSSM urges its readers to contact their representatives in Congress, and let them know you support our letter to Congress, which demands that members of the House sign a discharge petition that would bring these credits back under consideration by the chamber.
In response to consistent attacks on health coverage, progressive states have gotten creative and are trying their best to pick up the slack. In October, Maryland Governor Wes Moore unveiled the Premium Assistance Program, which will offset two-thirds of the projected ACA premium hikes.
Unfortunately, many states simply cannot make up the losses in coverage that will result from the GOP’s inaction on ACA tax credits.
“Extending these tax credits to keep Americans’ premiums from rising would have made simple common sense. 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, NCPSSM
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Find our letter to Congress supporting a discharge petition here
Find information to contact your representative in Congress here
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