Montana News
Federally subsidized health insurance could be impacted by upcoming election
The number of Montanans enrolled in federally subsidized health insurance plans over the past four years increased by about 50%, or about 22,000 people. The growth is attributed to enhanced subsidies during the pandemic. But those are set to expire at the end of next year. This fall’s election could impact whether they’re renewed.
- Broadcast on:
- 27 Aug 2024
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- other
With Montana News, I'm Eleanor Smith. The number of Montanans enrolled in federally subsidized health insurance plans over the past four years increased by about 50 percent or about 22,000 people. That's according to KFF, a nonpartisan health policy research group. The growth is attributed to enhanced subsidies during the pandemic, but those are set to expire at the end of next year. Montana Public Radio's Erin Bolton reports on how this fall's election could impact whether they're renewed. The Affordable Care Act created a federal health insurance marketplace. Under the program, federal subsidies pay a portion of people's premiums based on income. To keep people insured during the pandemic, Congress boosted that assistance significantly. That helped low-income people get premiums as low as zero dollars. It also allowed people with higher incomes to benefit. Olivia Ryuda leads Cover Montana, which helps people shop for marketplace plans. She says these subsidies have been a big help for people kicked off Medicaid as the state reassessed its roles for the first time in years. The enhanced affordability provisions have been really helpful for them to make sure that they can afford to pay that monthly premium. If enhanced marketplace subsidies expire next year, Montanans could pay up to $90 more every month for their insurance according to a KFF analysis. That's hard to absorb for low-income people, says Adriana McIntyre, professor of health policy and politics at Harvard. It could be the difference between a tank of gas in your health insurance, a grocery run in your health insurance. And I think that that's really what's at stake here. McIntyre thinks the most realistic way subsidies would get renewed is if Democrats maintain control of Congress and the White House. University of California Irvine Health Policy Professor Dylan Robey says even though Republicans didn't vote for the subsidies, he thinks that could change. You might see a few conservative House or Senate members saying like, "Hey, we can't make everyone's premiums go up the year that we were all elected into office." He says if subsidies were to expire, the largest premium increases would be in deep red states like Montana. He says that may ramp up pressure to keep them in place. In Columbia Falls, I'm Aaron Bolton.