Expiration of federal health insurance subsidies: What to know in California
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Thousands of middle-class Californians who depend on the state-run health insurance marketplace face premiums that are thousands of dollars higher than last year because enhanced federal subsidies that began during the COVID-19 pandemic have expired.Despite fears that more people would go without coverage with the end of the extra benefits, the number enrolling in Covered California has held steady so far, according to state data.But that may change.Jessica Altman, executive director of Covered California, said that she believes the number of people dropping their coverage could increase as they receive bills with their new higher premiums in the mail this month.
She said better data on enrollment will be available in the spring.Altman said that even though the extra benefits ended Dec.31, 92% of enrollees continue to receive government subsidies to help pay for their health insurance.
Nearly half qualify for health insurance that costs $10 or less per month.And 17% of Californians renewing their Covered California policies will pay nothing for premiums if they keep their current plan.The deadline to sign up for 2026 benefits is Saturday.Here’s help in sorting out what the expiration of the enhanced subsidies for insurance provided under the Affordable Care Act, often called Obamacare, means in the Golden State.What expired? In 2021, Congress voted to temporarily to boost the amount of subsidies Americans could receive for an ACA plan.
The law also expanded the program to families who had more money.Before the vote, only Americans with incomes below 400% of the federal poverty level — currently $62,600 a year for a single person or $128,600 for a family of four — were eligible for ACA subsidies.
The 2021 vote eliminated the income cap and limited the cost of premiums for those higher-earning families to no more than 8.5% of their income.How could costs change this year f...