Health insurance premiums poised to jump next year for 13 million people unless Congress extends expanded subsidies for marketplace coverage

If you get your health insurance through the health insurance marketplace, you might want to pay more next year.

If Congress doesn't act, the enhanced premium subsidies that have been in place for the next two years will be gone. 13 million people who get their health insurance through the federal exchange or state marketplace will be affected by the change.

Cynthia Cox, a vice president at the Kaiser Family Foundation, said that the expansion of subsidies will end at the end of the year. Premiums will go up more than 50%, but for some it will be more.

The cost to finance a new car hit a record $656 per month. Add the marriage tax penalty to the costs.

The self-employed and workers with no job-based health insurance receive subsidies which reduce the amount of money they pay in premiums. Depending on their income, some people may be able to get help with cost-sharing on some plans.

The aid was only available to households with incomes between 100% and 400% of the poverty level before the calculation was changed.

The American Rescue Plan Act, which was signed into law in March 2021, removed the income cap and the amount that anyone pays for premiums during the reprieve is limited to 8.5% of their income.

Only people with household income up to 400% of the federal poverty level will be eligible for subsidies if the tax credits are not extended.

According to Kaiser, the amount of a premium increase depends on a number of factors.

A report from the Congressional Budget Office shows a scenario in which a 64 year old with $58,000 in income would have insurance through the exchange. They will pay no more than $4,950 for premiums this year, because of the 8.5% limit. The same person would pay $12,900 for premiums if they faced a 400% cap on eligibility.

The Democrats'Build Back Better bill, which cleared the House last year but fell apart in the Senate, had a proposal to extend the extra subsidies.

It is not certain if the provision will be revived in some form via other legislation that Democrats will try to get through the Senate before a new Congress starts in January.