The Improving Health Insurance Affordability Act Puts Affordable Health Care within Reach for Millions of Struggling Families

S. 499, the Improving Health Insurance Affordability Act of 2021 sponsored by Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), takes two significant steps to lower American health care costs:

1. It ensures families can count on the premium relief furnished by the American Rescue Plan (ARP) well into the future by making permanent the ARP provisions that provided a two-year reduction in premiums for people who buy their own insurance.
2. It carries out President Joe Biden’s campaign promise to base federal financial assistance on gold-tier plans with lower deductibles, rather than silver-tier plans, substantially lowering the amount that people who have insurance must pay when they seek care. The average person buying their own insurance in the ACA marketplace would see their estimated out-of-pocket cost of getting health care drop from $1,782 to $685 – a $1,097 savings, each and every year.