Last week, Protect Our Care Colorado, a left-leaning healthcare non-profit, and a coalition of around 60 local healthcare and consumer advocate groups, sent a letter to Colorado’s congressional delegation asking them to permanently extend the enhanced premium tax credit that’s set to expire at the end of the year.
“The enhanced premium tax credits have helped roughly 100,000 Coloradans enroll in more affordable health insurance coverage and have led to a much more stable individual market for private insurance,” reads the letter. “The loss of the enhanced premium tax credits will have devastating consequences, especially when layered with the looming cuts to Medicaid coverage from [the One Big Beautiful Bill]. Even with recent legislation passed during the special legislative session to try to blunt the harm to Coloradans, 75,000-80,000 Coloradans are expended to lose coverage with the loss of the enhanced tax credits.”
The tax credit is part of funding for insurance coverage under the Affordable Care Act, which was initially adopted in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The fight to extend the tax credit has become a sticking point as Congress decides on a funding bill this month, and Republicans have, for the most part, rejected calls from Democrats to extend the tax credit.
Some of the organizations that are a part of the coalition are: the Adams County Health Department, Bell Policy Center, the Colorado Community Health Network, and the Colorado Gynecologic Cancer Alliance.
The coalition warns that the tax credit expiring could have a “cascading effect” on healthcare providers and systems, as premiums are expected to increase by over 170% across the state (and even steeper increases in rural areas).
When coupled with the cuts made to programs like Medicaid, the coalition says that it will lead to a reduction in overall healthcare services and possible closures of hospitals and clinics.
During the Biden administration, Congress initially approved allocating money to cap premiums at 8.5% of income to alleviate the medical burden on some middle-income earners. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office has estimated an increase to the national deficit by $350 billion from 2026 to 2035. if the premium tax credit structure is permanently expanded. Expanding the provision would also increase the number of people with health insurance by 3.8 million by 2035, according to the same report.
Congressional Republicans have been pushing to pass a short-term funding bill that doesn’t extend the tax credits to prevent a government shutdown. Democrats have been seeking to use the funding deadline as leverage to reverse cuts made to Medicaid as part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
The tax credits have been polarizing within the Republican caucus, as some have been moving to dismantle the ACA and see the premium tax credits as too expensive. Some Republican members of the House, particularly those in rural swing districts, have expressed support for extending these tax credits.
Some of Colorado’s Democratic representatives, like Diana DeGette, have previously called on their GOP counterparts to extend these ACA provisions.
If the funds expire, healthcare consumers would see sharp premium hikes. Even though the tax credits wouldn’t expire until the end of the year, Congress would need to act sooner to avoid increases in insurance coverage. Insurers will be filing their rates in the coming weeks, and open enrollment is slated to begin on November 1.
“In order to avoid this harm to your constituents and communities, Congress must act quickly to extend the enhanced premium tax credits in time for open enrollment starting Nov. 1st. Failure to act will lead to thousands of your constituents becoming uninsured, not being able to afford the care they need, delaying care, falling into medical debt, and facing increasing health care costs,” the letter concludes.
