10.16.2025 / Press Release

Amid Government Shutdown, Families USA Urges Congress to Extend the Enhanced Premium Tax Credits Permanently

WASHINGTON, D.C. – As the government shutdown continues and negotiations in Congress stall, Families USA led more than 150 organizations in calling on Congress to take immediate action and permanently extend the enhanced premium tax credits that make health care more affordable for millions of Americans, including access to a zero-dollar premium plan for the most vulnerable families.

In a letter sent today, two weeks from the start of open enrollment on November 1, the organizations — representing patients, workers, small businesses, health care providers, public health professionals, and other health care stakeholders — urged Congress to extend these crucial tax credits without delay and without modification.

“Without a timely extension of the enhanced premium tax credits, more than 20 million people — including about 5 million small business owners and self-employed people, along with 6 million older adults — will see their health care costs skyrocket,” they wrote in the letter.

“Raising health costs for people living paycheck to paycheck will endanger people’s health while making their financial predicament even more dire. To avoid this outcome, Congress must quickly extend the health care tax credits across all currently eligible income levels, including access to a zero-dollar premium plan for the most vulnerable families. We urge you and your colleagues to act without delay.”

Families USA has repeatedly called on Congress to extend the enhanced premium tax credits before the upcoming Open Enrollment period to prevent high premium increases for 2026. These calls came during the passage of the Republican health care cuts law, which included a permanent extension of tax credits for the wealthy and big corporations, but Republican leaders in Congress blocked multiple attempts to extend these tax credits to help working families afford health care coverage.