Washington, D.C. — With open enrollment for Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace coverage beginning on November 1, a new analysis from the Center for American Progress explains the urgency of extending the expiring enhanced premium tax credits. While marketplaces could still implement congressional legislation after that date to lower health care costs for millions of Americans, each day of delay drives greater enrollment losses and higher premium rates for future years.
Window shopping for HealthCare.gov opened this week, and enrollees are already viewing steep premium cost increases for 2026. Federal and state marketplaces are capable of updating their enrollment platforms if Congress acts soon. Emily Gee, who worked on the launch of the ACA marketplaces during the Obama administration, highlights that similar midstream changes were successfully made when the American Rescue Plan Act and state Medicaid expansion were implemented.
“Extending the enhanced premium tax credits is the fastest, most effective way for Congress to stop health care costs from skyrocketing for millions of Americans,” said Emily Gee, senior vice president for Inclusive Growth at the Center for American Progress and author of the analysis. “It would have been far better to act months ago, but Congress has no excuse not to fix this now.”
The enhanced tax credits—which offer greater affordability for more than 20 million low- and middle-class Americans—are set to expire at the end of 2025. Without action, premium costs would more than double, and about 4 million more people would become uninsured.
Insurers and marketplaces are already prepared for either outcome. Even at this late date, a clean extension would still deliver major savings and keep more Americans covered this open enrollment season.
Read the full analysis: Better Late than Never: Restoring Enhanced Premium Tax Credits Would Lower Health Care Costs for Millions by Emily Gee.
For more information or to speak with an expert, contact Christian Unkenholz at [email protected].