Unless Congress Acts, Health Care Costs Will Soon Skyrocket for People Who Buy Their Own Insurance

Millions of families struggle every day to pay the rising cost of food, gasoline, and other necessities. The last thing they need is a 53% increase in their health insurance premiums. But that’s the average increase that will soon be charged to millions of people who buy their own health insurance through healthcare.gov—unless Congress extends the financial assistance provided by the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) beyond this year. Without congressional intervention, premium costs for current coverage will shoot up by a staggering amount: more than $12 billion in additional charges to families across the country.

ARPA has reduced families’ premium costs by increasing the advance premium tax credits that people use to buy insurance in health insurance marketplaces. But this essential support expires on January 1, 2023. Unless Congress acts, more than 14 million people who rely on marketplace plans will receive notices from their insurance companies announcing shocking premium increases a few weeks before open enrollment begins on November 1.