Health Subsidies Expire; Millions of Americans Face Higher Premiums

Enhanced tax credits that helped reduce the cost of health insurance for the vast majority of Affordable Care Act enrollees expired overnight, cementing higher health-care costs for millions of Americans at the start of the new year, Ali Swenson reported for the Associated Press (AP).

Some families now face insurance costs that are doubling, tripling, or more.

Democrats forced a 43-day government shutdown over the issue. Moderate Republicans called for a solution to protect their 2026 political prospects.

President Donald Trump floated a way out, only to back off after conservative backlash. In the end, efforts fell short of saving the subsidies before their expiration. A House vote expected in January could offer another chance, but success is far from guaranteed.

The change affects a broad cross-section of Americans who do not receive health insurance through an employer and do not qualify for Medicaid or Medicare — including many self-employed workers, small business owners, farmers and ranchers.

The expiration comes at the start of a high-stakes midterm election year, with affordability — including health-care costs — topping voters’ concerns.

“It really bothers me that the middle class has moved from a squeeze to a full suffocation, and they continue to just pile on and leave it up to us,” said 37-year-old single mother Katelin Provost, whose health-care costs are set to rise sharply.

“I’m incredibly disappointed that there hasn’t been more action.”

Some families now face insurance costs that are doubling, tripling, or more.

The subsidies were first granted to Affordable Care Act enrollees in 2021 as a temporary measure to help Americans during the COVID-19 pandemic. Democrats later extended them, pushing the expiration date to the start of 2026.