The ARPA/IRA enhanced subsidies for the Affordable Care Act are set to expire on Dec. 31. I am writing as a constituent to urge you to vote to extend those extended subsidies for the sake of Texans.
At present, 3.3 million Texans, or 11.7 percent of our state’s population, are enrolled in ACA exchange plans. If the IRA subsidies go away:
• A single 50-yr old earning $40,000/yr would see his premiums jump from $154/month to $258/month...a 67% increase.
• A single parent earning $50,000/year would go from paying $144/month to $299/month...more than twice as much.
• A family of four earning $70,000/year would see their premiums jump from $147/month to $378/month...nearly 2.6x as much.
• A 64-yr old couple earning $90,000/yr would have to shell out OVER $23,000 MORE per year for the same coverage...or over 4x as much as they're paying this year!
Health insurance is already ridiculously expensive. Faced with these insane price increases, many will simply drop their insurance, worsening this state’s already staggering crisis of under- and uninsured people. Health insurance is a necessity. Forcing people to risk living without it is immoral.
Further, increasing the number of uninsured people will negatively impact Texas hospitals, which already are strained and will be further so when the draconian cuts to Medicaid kick in. Texas already has a crisis of rural hospitals closing. This will only make that crisis worse.
If you care at all about your constituents, extend the enhanced subsidies. Better yet, make them permanent. Ease the financial burden your constituents are facing. Allow them to keep their insurance and their access to health care. Protect Texans.
DO YOUR DAMNED JOB!
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