As the federal government shutdown drags on, healthcare is becoming the latest casualty of political gridlock.The Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare,
As the federal government shutdown drags on, healthcare is becoming the latest casualty of political gridlock. The Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, provides premium tax credits that lower the cost of monthly insurance payments.
Those subsidies were expanded during the COVID-19 pandemic but are set to expire at the end of 2025. Emma Wager, a senior policy analyst at KFF, a nonpartisan health policy research group, says that could have major consequences. "With the expiration of these enhanced premium tax credits, we're seeing that most people who get their insurance on the individual market are going to see extremely large increases in the amount that they are going to have to pay in premiums every month," said Wager.In Pennsylvania, the average benchmark plan is expected to rise 24%, to around $572 a month in 2026. Wager says insurers are hiking prices now, anticipating that younger, healthier people may drop out of the system once subsidies expire. "That’s largely due to the fact that insurers anticipate younger, healthier people with fewer health concerns may just leave the market, they may decide to be uninsured and so that would leave a sicker more expensive risk pool. The insurers are raising their premiums to compensate for that.," said Wager. Wager warns that rising premiums and the loss of subsidies could create ripple effects across the health care system. “When people go uninsured, they still get sick and need care. Hospitals are required to treat them, but if they’re not getting paid, those costs get passed on to everyone else. That’s especially concerning for rural hospitals.” For Paul Lyon, a self-employed man from Moscow, Pennsylvania, those numbers hit home. He found out Saturday his cost is going from $688 to $1142 a month. “Nobody in my opinion should have to spend even $688 a month on health insurance, much less over $1000. So that just jacked my monthly cost up by over $450. That’s a car payment," said Lyon.“I’m not going to go without health insurance. I can't go without health insurance, so I’m stuck. The future is I’m stuck," said Lyon.FOX56 reached out to Congressman Bresnahan for comment but he was unavailable for an interview. But right now, lawmakers remain deadlocked as the government shutdown continues.Cumberland County attorney Christopher Lee Harris has been formerly suspended for the next five years, according to an update from the Supreme Court of PennsylvAn elderly woman has been hospitalized after crashing into a parked vehicle in Cumberland County, according to West Shore Regional Police.The crash was reporteOne of the biggest mayoral races in south-central Pennsylvania will take place in Lancaster.Some voters were turned away at a Dauphin County polling location after it was put on lockdown due to a threat, according to officials.An Enola man is facing felony charges after an investigation revealed he was sexually assaulting a minor for months, according to East Pennsboro Township Police
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