Fall is a scary time. Not because of Halloween, but because it’s when we find out how much it will cost to renew our health insurance. Unsurprisingly, health care premiums are predicted to rise. If you don’t get insurance from your employer, you may be hit with an alarmingly large increase. This includes people who are self-employed, work at small businesses, and have part-time jobs.
People who don’t get health insurance from an employer often buy it from the ACA marketplace. Most of these people receive a tax credit to help pay for it. Half a million Ohioans get the discount called the “enhanced premium tax credit.” Heads-up if you are in this group, because the credit expires at the end of this year, and when it does, the cost of insurance premiums is expected to increase by an average of $700.
After the tax credit was implemented, marketplace insurance premiums decreased for all income levels. Without the credit, people will pay full price. If insurance gets too expensive, healthy people stop buying it. This leaves insurance companies with sicker enrollees and smaller profits. To cut their losses, some will further increase the cost of insurance, so even fewer people buy it, and so on. This downward spiral impacts the quality of healthcare for everyone.
A budget fight in Congress threatens to shut down the government, and cuts to health care are part of the conflict. A bill to extend the tax credit for one year was introduced in the House of Representatives. Call Bob Latta, or whoever is your representative, and ask him or her to vote yes on the bill, H.R. 5145. Then call Senators Husted and Morano and ask them to support the ACA tax credit when it is their turn to vote on it.
Debbie Dalke
Bowling Green
