Nearly a record half million Pennsylvanians used the state’s health insurance marketplace — Pennie — to get their health insurance this year, but the tax breaks many of those enrollees got will expire at the end of December unless Congress and President Donald Trump take action.
The end-of-year deadline comes as the tax credits are caught up in a partisan budget battle and government shutdown in Washington. Democrats want an extension included in any budget deal.
Health insurance rates are already expected to rise for everyone. And if federal tax credits are not extended, people who buy their health insurance through Pennsylvania’s Affordable Care Act marketplace Pennie, will get hit with even bigger price increases.
“We anticipate rate increases of 82% or more for a lot of the enrollees on Pennie, just because that subsidy helped them pay for their insurance coverage," said Michael Humphreys, Pennsylvania’s insurance commissioner.
Humphreys said rate spikes could mean that younger, healthier people forego insurance. And that has its own effects.
“When you see healthy individuals leaving the market, it means the overall market is less healthy," he said. "So insurers are raising their prices in anticipation of a less healthy market for next year.”
Pennsylvania is one of the states pushing for Congress to extend the the tax credits.
