Name: Looming health insurance price spike
Uploaded: 2025-12-05T02:31:21.030Z
Duration: 4 min 57 s
Description: The Senate is expected to vote on a Democratic proposal to extend the enhanced Obamacare subsidies for several years, lawmakers on both sides are pushing for a deal.

The Senate is expected to vote on a Democratic proposal to extend the enhanced Obamacare subsidies for several years, lawmakers on both sides are pushing for a deal.

Washington

If federal health insurance subsidies are not extended, more than 22 million Americans are expected to face premium increases of up to 100 percent over current rates. In states like Washington, families and older adults could see annual costs rise by thousands of dollars, making coverage unaffordable for many.

The potential loss of subsidies would particularly affect small business owners, early retirees, and individuals without employer-sponsored insurance, possibly forcing some to forgo coverage altogether. Advocates urge communities to contact legislators and highlight the urgent need for bipartisan action to prevent a cost crisis and ensure continued access to affordable health care.

Looming health insurance price spike

Joining us now to talk about how Americans will be impacted if the health insurance subsidies expire with no plans is Katie Burge with the Keep Americans Covered Coalition. Katie, good morning and thank you so much for joining us. Pleasure to be here with you. Thank you. All right, let's check out the numbers right now. First, how many people across the country will see their premium costs skyrocket if the subsidies aren't extended? Yeah, if the subsidies aren't expanded, more than 22 million Americans will be impacted by incredible premium increases and that is as much as 100 percent above what they're currently paying. But we all know that health insurance is already expensive and making sure that everyone, regardless of their health condition, has access to high quality comprehensive coverage is really important to us. Yeah, so what will those statewide increases look like for households in Washington state and how much would a typical family have to pay up if it's changed? Yeah, so in 2025 alone, we know that more than 225,000 people living in Washington received this important tax credit. For a family of four earning around $66,000 a year, annual premiums would increase by more than $3,000. That's a 330 percent increase. For a 60-year-old couple just before Medicare earning around $85,000 a year, annual premiums could increase by $25,000. That is just not a sustainable cost. Yeah, for a lot of people, you just don't have that extra cash laying around. So with these premiums, if they go up, I mean this is certainly going to affect the economy. Yeah, and so many of the people who are already insured through the Affordable Care Act and receive these premium tax credits are people who are small businesses, individual entrepreneurs, early retirees, or people who don't have an offer of employer-sponsored coverage. So this has not only an impact on individuals' ability to access life-saving treatment and preventative visits every year, visits your family practitioner, but it also has a huge impact on our local economies. And there has been a point in time in my life where I've had to search for insurance out there outside of the workplace and get it individually, and it just seems unattainable for those prices to go up like that. These premium increases, do you think a lot of people will just say, I'm not going to have insurance at all? I mean, it's one of the decisions that is facing patients right now. And for example, cancer patients can't afford to go without health insurance. There is no such thing as a self-paid cancer patient. So the stakes for people with pre-existing conditions, which is going to be most of us, if not all of us someday, are incredibly high. Losing this lifeline will force millions of people and thousands of people within the states to delay treatment, forego needed care, or lose time ultimately with loved ones. What overall do you think your suggestions are if this does happen and go into effect and come into play? What do you say to those people who are looking for somewhere to find some sort of plan instead of just being out there with nothing and having to walk into an ER and get urgent care? So the decision is difficult. And for us at Blood Cancer United, that represents people who are seriously sick. High quality insurance is not something that they can go without. In the interim, we all have to. And I'm an optimist here, right? This is the opportunity for our communities to raise their voice, to share with their legislators what their expectations and what their needs are for their families. And so right now, we're at this moment where open enrollment is underway. People are making these impossible choices. But we're also at this moment, this inflection point in Congress, where there is action to be taken. There is a solution that we can identify and can pass. And so we're encouraging everyone not only to go and look at your insurance options through the marketplace, but also to call your legislator and tell them what's at stake for you. And what do you believe would be the best outcome here? I mean, everybody expects a little increase over time with inflation, but this large gap, what would be the happy medium? I mean, the happy medium would be certainty, right? We know that Republicans and Democrats have said that they want to avoid this cost crisis, and now is the time. Now is the time for them to put their words into action and make sure that we have a plan that provides certainty in the short term. And if we want to address other things that are impacting cost for working families or for early retirees or for anyone, honestly, there needs to be a longer runway to look holistically to make durable bipartisan tweaks. But in the moment, can't wait. Yeah. Katie, thank you for opening up this conversation, and I wish more people would be chatting about this and get on the same page. All right. Katie Birch with Keep Americans Covered Coalition. Thanks so much for enlightening us this morning. Yeah.

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