Some Face Rising Health Care Costs
When you get sick, you often need to see a doctor. But health care in the United States is a lot more complicated than that. Recent changes that have gone into effect this month are impacting the way many Americans access, and pay for, their health care. But what are these changes, and what do they mean for your family’s ability to access health care?
What is Health Insurance?
People pay for their health insurance every month. In exchange for paying that fee, if anything unexpectedly happens to you (like you get really sick or break a bone), medical insurance helps to pay some of the medical costs. Without it, even a simple visit to the doctor can cost a great deal of money.
Many adults receive medical insurance for themselves and their families through their employer. But not all companies offer health insurance plans. And there are millions of people who work part time, are self-employed (such as small business owners), perform nontraditional jobs (such as farmers, artists, or musicians), or are unemployed. They don’t receive this benefit from their types of employment and must find another way to pay for their medical expenses.
The Obama administration offered an alternative when the Affordable Care Act was passed by Congress in 2010. This legislation established health insurance coverage through the federal government. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) also expanded Medicaid, which is a program that allows people who are disabled or facing economic hardship to receive health care. Under the Affordable Care Act, people with incomes between 100 percent and 400 percent of the federal poverty line could receive subsidies, or tax credits, to help lower their monthly insurance payment.
What is Changing?
These tax subsidies, which make health care more affordable for many Americans, expired in at the end of 2025. The Trump administration and congressional Republicans chose to not extend or renew them. As a result, health care premiums for many families are now significantly higher than they were last year. For many, their monthly premium will double. Therefore, many Americans have made the decision to choose another option or to go without health insurance altogether rather than pay these higher premiums.
So far, about 800,000 fewer people have signed up for Affordable Care Act health insurance plans this year. Some experts warn that the number enrolled in these programs might drop even further once people receive their first bill and decide to cancel their plans when they realize how much more money they will have to pay monthly for insurance. According to economists, extending the tax credits would cost about $35 billion per year. On the other hand, removing the credits may leave millions of Americans without health insurance.
In response to dropping ACA enrollment numbers, the House of Representatives passed legislation earlier this month to extend the subsidies for three more years. The issue is currently being debated in the Senate.
Show What You Know To better understand the complicated ideas presented in the article, define the following terms in your own words: insurance; Affordable Care Act; premium; subsidy; Medicaid.
