WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� Fifty-two-year-old Dinam Bigny sank into debt and had to get a roommate this year, in part because of health insurance premiums that cost him nearly $900 per month.
Next year, those monthly fees will rise by $200 鈥� a significant enough increase that the program manager in Aldie, Virginia, has resigned himself to finding cheaper coverage.
鈥淚 won鈥檛 be able to pay it, because I really drained out any savings that I have right now,鈥� he said. 鈥淓mergency fund is still draining out 鈥� that鈥檚 the scary part.鈥�
Bigny is among the many Americans dependent on Affordable Care Act marketplace health insurance plans who are already struggling with the , according to from the health care research nonprofit KFF.
Most of the more than 1,300 enrollees surveyed in early November say they anticipate that their health costs if Congress doesn鈥檛 extend that help more than 90% of enrollees pay for health insurance premiums, per KFF. The possibility of an extension .
The enhanced premium tax credits set to expire at the end of this year have been at the center of recent tensions in Congress, with Democrats calling for a straight extension and several Republican lawmakers vehemently opposed to the idea. Their inability to agree on a path forward earlier this fall.
and some have circulated proposals in recent weeks to offer a short-term extension or reform the Affordable Care Act, but no plan has emerged as a clear winner. Meanwhile, the window for Americans to shop for next year鈥檚 plans is well underway with less than a month to go until the subsidies expire.
KFF鈥檚 poll reveals that marketplace enrollees 鈥� most of whom say they would be directly impacted by the subsidies expiring 鈥� overwhelmingly support an extension. The survey found this group is more likely to blame Trump and Republicans in Congress than Democrats if the tax credits are left to expire.
Enrollees already find it challenging to afford health expenses
The expiration of the tax credits 鈥� which a separate KFF analysis found will monthly payments for the average subsidized enrollee 鈥� comes as Americans are already overwhelmed by high health expenses, the poll shows.
About 6 in 10 Affordable Care Act enrollees find it 鈥渟omewhat鈥� or 鈥渧ery鈥� difficult to afford out-of-pocket costs for medical care, such as deductibles and copays. That exceeds the roughly half of enrollees who find it challenging to afford health insurance premiums. Most also say they could not afford a $300 per year increase in their health insurance costs without significantly disrupting their household finances.
Cynthia Cox, a vice president of KFF who leads the organization’s ACA research, said the population of Americans on Affordable Care Act health insurance includes some high-earning entrepreneurs and small business owners, but the bulk of enrollees are lower-income and therefore vulnerable to even small increases in health costs.
鈥淭hese are often going to be people who are living paycheck to paycheck, who have volatile or unpredictable incomes as well,鈥� she said. 鈥淚ncreases that many of them are facing are going to be some sort of financial hardship for them.鈥�
Most enrollees see cost increases on the horizon
Slightly more than half of Affordable Care Act marketplace enrollees believe their health insurance costs will increase 鈥渁 lot more than usual” next year, according to the poll. About another 4 in 10 anticipate increases that will be 鈥渁 little more than usual鈥� or 鈥渁bout the same as usual.鈥�
Larry Griffin, a 56-year-old investment banker and financial adviser in Paso Robles, California, already pays $920 a month for his gold-level health plan through the state’s insurance marketplace. He says that price will go up to about $1,400 a month next year 鈥� alongside jumps in copays and his annual out-of-pocket maximum.
He鈥檚 concerned the increases will affect his ability to save money for his upcoming retirement, but with the recent amputation of his left leg below the knee, as well as other health issues, he said he can鈥檛 risk going off health insurance or downgrading his plan.
Griffin is among the roughly three-quarters of marketplace enrollees who say health insurance is 鈥渧ery important鈥� for their ability to access the health care they need.
鈥淚鈥檓 not going to say that I can鈥檛 manage it, I can, but it鈥檚 just another one of those things,鈥� he said. 鈥淗ere鈥檚, you know, knock number 5,000 against me after all of the other things I鈥檝e had to deal with.鈥�
Patricia Roberts, 52, a full-time caregiver for her daughter in Auburn, Alabama, received a notice saying her monthly health insurance premiums would rise from around $800 a month to $1,100 a month next year 鈥� but she was later notified the monthly cost would actually be more than $1,400, prompting her to look for a downgraded plan.
She said her friends across the border in Georgia are staring down doubling monthly fees next year.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 know how people are going to live, with it already being a struggle just to pay for food and all the other things,鈥� Roberts said.
Support for an extension stretches across political parties
The poll shows allowing the enhanced tax credits to expire would be overwhelmingly unpopular with current marketplace enrollees.
Support for continuing the tax credits extends across party lines. Nearly all Democrats and about 8 in 10 independents who are enrolled in marketplace plans say the credits should be extended, as do about 7 in 10 Republicans. Support is similarly high among Republicans and Republican-leaning independents who support the MAGA movement, and those who don鈥檛.
Yvette Laugier, 56, a Republican in Chicago, said while her income is too high to qualify her for the enhanced premium tax credits, she supports extending them temporarily with additional fraud protections to give lower-income enrollees more time to consider their options.
Among those who think Congress should extend the credits, about 4 in 10 say Trump would deserve 鈥渕ost of the blame鈥� if they were allowed to expire and roughly one-third say that about Republicans in Congress. Democrats in Congress are much less likely to receive blame: only 23% of enrollees say they would deserve the bulk of responsibility.
Bigny, in Virginia, said the blame should be split between both Democrats and Republicans. But he has hope they can come to a compromise and potentially a temporary extension in the coming weeks.
鈥淭hey should just sit and really look for what鈥檚 best for American people overall,鈥� he said.
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Swenson reported from New York.
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