SEATTLE — Tens of thousands of Washington residents could see double to triple their normal healthcare costs if Congress fails to renew the ACA tax benefit, CEO of the Washington Health Benefit Exchange Ingrid Ulrey said.
Ulrey was a guest at a press conference hosted by Sen. Patty Murray Thursday morning, as the government shutdown, of which the ACA tax benefit is at the center, reaches its 23rd day.
Senate Democrats are withholding their votes on a bill to reopen the government until Republicans come to the table to negotiate extending the tax credit. However, Republicans say they won’t negotiate the tax credits until Democrats vote to reopen the government.
Neither side seems ready to budge.
With the open enrollment period for Washington state’s healthcare market opening in eight days, the exchange is now reflecting what customers’ 2026 costs will be.
Those primed to be most impacted by the tax credit expiring are people in the middle income bracket who make more than $62,000 a year for a single person, or $80,000 as a couple, Ulrey said. The typical customer includes small business owners, gig workers, people who are self-employed and anyone above the age of 50 that is not currently on Medicare.
Ulrey predicts increases could be as much as $5,000 per year, or double to triple the 2025 costs. She said she fears this will lead to potentially thousands of people foregoing healthcare coverage altogether.
“It’s at that level that becomes the breaking point,” Ulrey said. “People think about, ‘I have my mortgage, I have my groceries…’ and feel that they just can’t hang on.”
Ulrey said if Congress does end up extending the credit, relief may not be immediate, but that the exchange will work to reflect the lowered costs as quickly as possible.
“If and when Congress can come to an agreement to extend the tax credits, the exchange stands ready to pass on this relief to our customers.”
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