Obamacare Is More Popular and Costlier Than Ever
Generous premium subsidies aren’t sustainable. A better compromise is needed.
Don't gut it. Fix it.
Photographer: Allison Robbert/AFP/Getty Images
A rude surprise could be in store for the millions of Americans who get health coverage through the Affordable Care Act. If Congress doesn’t act next year, enhanced premium subsidies will expire by December, causing enrollees’ payments to increase by more than 75% on average. Officials estimate more than 2 million people will become uninsured in the first year after the policy lapses. Extending the enhanced subsidies, meanwhile, would cost taxpayers $335 billion through 2034.
Politics aside, the brewing dilemma presents an opportunity for compromise that should involve extending the enhanced subsidies temporarily while gradually weaning the program from massive federal support. Both political parties might find such an agreement would work to their advantage.