Washington, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), a senior member and former Chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee joined Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), and U.S. Representative Lauren Underwood (D, IL-14), in reintroducing their Health Care Affordability Act—bicameral legislation making permanent the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) enhanced premium tax credits (PTCs) for Marketplace coverage as extended through the Inflation Reduction Act. According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), if the PTCs are allowed to expire at the end of this year, health care premiums would increase by 7.9 percent and 3.8 million Americans would lose their health insurance altogether. Yesterday, the Biden Administration announced that nearly 24 million consumers have signed up for ACA Marketplace coverage, nearly doubling enrollment during the last four years.
The Health Care Affordability Act would make permanent the ACA PTCs for Health Insurance Marketplace coverage as passed in the American Rescue Plan Act and extended through the Inflation Reduction Act. Those enhanced tax credits increase the value of the tax credits available to people with income between 100 and 400 percent of the federal poverty level (FPL) while expanding eligibility for premium tax credits to include individuals with income above 400 percent of FPL.
“Right now, nearly 45 million people have health insurance thanks to the Affordable Care Act, a record 24 million through the state and federal exchanges—and millions of families have had their premiums lowered thanks to tax credits Democrats passed and every single Republican voted against. On average, these tax credits are saving families over $800 a year,” said Senator Murray. “But unless Congress takes action, the health care tax credits will expire at the end of this year. Renewing these tax credits is a big deal for patients, and if Republicans, who never wanted them in the first place, get their way and let them expire, it will be a big problem—an $800-a-year problem, saddled onto struggling working families who can least afford it.”
Senator Murray was an original cosponsor of the Health Care Affordability Act in the 118th Congress and as Assistant Majority in the 117th Congress, she played a key role in passing the Inflation Reduction Act that extended the premium tax credits.
Additional Senate cosponsors of the legilsation include U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Committee on Finance Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-OR), U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Angus King (I-ME), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Peter Welch (D-VT), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Chris Coons (D-DE), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Jack Reed (D-RI), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Tina Smith (D-MN), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Mark Warner (D-VA), Ed Markey (D-MA), Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Michael Bennet (D-CO), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Gary Peters (D-MI), John Fetterman (D-PA), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Andy Kim (D-NJ) and Elissa Slotkin (D-MI).
The bill has been endorsed by the following organizations: Protect Our Care, Keep Americans Covered, Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, United States of Care, National Health Council, Unidos, Young Invincibles, Alliance of Community Health Plans, American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, American Lung Association, Center for American Progress, American Heart Association, Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, Third Way, Susan G. Komen, Arthritis Foundation, Cancer Support Community, Child Neurology Foundation, Epilepsy Foundation of America, American Kidney Fund, CancerCare, Family Voices – National, Hemophilia Federation of America, Lupus Foundation of America, National Bleeding Disorders Foundation, National Kidney Foundation, Muscular Dystrophy Association, National Multiple Sclerosis Society, National Organization for Rare Disorders, National Patient Advocate Foundation, National Psoriasis Foundation, The AIDS Institute, Families USA, Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum, Federation of American Hospitals, Center for American Progress, National Partnership for Women and Families, Pulmonary Hypertension Association, GO2 for Lung Cancer, Community Catalyst, American Federation of Teachers and National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship.
###
English 
Spanish