Real talk - the first year of the Trump Administration has made it HARDER for families to afford the basics. #CBPPSOTU
25.02.2026 02:57
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Real talk - the first year of the Trump Administration has made it HARDER for families to afford the basics. #CBPPSOTU
Even as President Trump talks up his health proposals, key decisions he has already made are making care unaffordable for millions. Federal policies he backed will leave some 15M uninsured. If they stood in a line, it would reach from Chicago to Buenos Aires. #CBPPSOTU
New piece from my colleague @nicolerapfogel.bsky.social on why HSAs are more that just a bad deal for people with low incomes -- they can actually be harmful.
On the heels of expired PTC enhancements that resulted in 1 million—and counting—fewer people enrolling in #ACA marketplace plans for 2026, CMS released a proposed rule for 2027 that would reduce marketplace enrollment by 2 million people in 2027 alone. @claireheyison.bsky.social explains:
Dear Mom and Dad: on this Valentine’s Day, I want to thank you with all my heart for all the love and support you have given to me and the confidence you instilled in me as you shared your dreams of what is possible in this great nation. #ToImmigrantsWithLove
#ACA marketplace plan selections are down by more than a million people as of late January, but coverage losses will almost certainly be higher. And the harm stemming from Congressional Republicans' failure to extend PTC enhancements goes much deeper than coverage loss. More in my blog post below.
New KFF poll results: Health care is a top affordability worry, and two-thirds of those surveyed say Congress did the wrong thing not extending the ACA marketplace premium tax credit enhancements. www.kff.org/public-opini...
Excellent thread from my colleague @zoeneuberger.bsky.social on why WIC is so critical for the health of new and expecting parents and young children. Check out the full paper for all the details!
President Trump’s one-page health care plan not only fails to extend enhanced premium tax credits (PTCs), more than doubling out-of-pocket premiums on the ACA marketplace. It also cuts PTCs even further by changing how existing cost-sharing reductions are funded. (1/3) tinyurl.com/37x7wbcz
This “affordability” framework for a second reconciliation bill (i.e. a “Second Big Beautiful Bill”) follows the same structure as its predecessor:
1.)Making it harder for Americans to afford health care, food & groceries.
2.)Tax cuts for rich people. 🧵
Speed and simplicity are paramount. Premiums are due this month. Given the delay in addressing this problem, there is no time for complicated changes. Extending the PTC enhancements is a common-sense solution with bipartisan support and should be enacted without delay. www.cbpp.org/blog/how-to-...
The Senate has an opportunity now to address affordability in a meaningful way that will help millions of families, small business owners, young adults, and workers who can’t afford (or aren’t offered) employer coverage.
Extending PTC enhancements would help millions of people who otherwise would face massive premium spikes afford marketplace coverage as well as other essentials like groceries and rent that working families are struggling to pay. www.cbpp.org/research/hea...
In December, although a nearly identical bill did not meet the 60-vote threshold to overcome the filibuster in the Senate, a majority of Senators supported it, and pressure to enact an extension has grown in recent weeks as people have received January invoices for skyrocketing premiums.
The House passed a measure today to extend the Premium Tax Credit enhancements for three years. The bipartisan vote shows there’s strong support for immediate action to make millions of people’s health care more affordable. All eyes are now on the Senate. x.com/JakeSherman/...
Passing a clean extension ASAP is the simplest and best way to protect health coverage affordability for people who get their coverage from the ACA marketplaces. www.cbpp.org/blog/how-to-...
The House bill would extend the enhancements for 3 years, ensuring the 20 million+ ppl who rely on PTCs can maintain access to affordable coverage that allows them to get the care they need and shields them from medical debt.
Other people are choosing not to enroll at all, because without the PTC enhancements, there simply isn’t an affordable option. It will be months before final enrollment data are available, but millions of people are projected to lose coverage. www.cbo.gov/publication/...
#OpenEnrollment is still underway in every state (except ID). People are deciding now about what they can afford w/o the enhancements. Some are choosing less generous plans than last year, with higher deductibles and other costs b/c it’s now all they can afford. www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...
This week, the House is expected to vote on a bill to extend the Premium Tax Credit enhancements. This would reduce 2026 premiums for the average #ACA marketplace enrollee by more than half, improving affordability for millions of people struggling with health costs. www.cbpp.org/research/hea...
"As more than 20M people face imminent spikes in their health care premiums, House Republicans passed a bill today that does nothing to address this health care affordability crisis." -
@sharonparrott.bsky.social
Full statement on House Republican health care bill: www.cbpp.org/press/statem...
While they are very different bills, the points below also apply to the health bill the House Republicans will offer for a vote tomorrow. In the meantime, 20 million people face skyrocketing premiums in less than three weeks if the premium tax credit enhancements are allowed to expire.
The House Republicans’ response to expiring premium tax credit enhancements simply doesn’t respond to expiring PTC enhancements.
Instead, they recycle old Republican policy priorities and do nothing to address the impending marketplace affordability crisis.
This week is critical for health coverage affordability. CBPP’s @jenniferlsullivan.bsky.social breaks down what’s at stake as Congress votes on extending premium tax credit enhancements & the 3 key dates marketplace enrollees need to know when choosing 2026 coverage: www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QY5...
21 days stand between real people and devastating premium increases for the ACA marketplace coverage. People like Tracy are facing impossible choices. Congress still has time to pass a clean extension that would solve this problem.
A recent WSJ op-ed reaches the wrong conclusion about a GAO report on #ACA marketplaces. The report details vulnerabilities that call for targeted action – it doesn’t show widespread fraud, and it shouldn’t be used as an excuse to raise ppl’s premiums. tinyurl.com/4rnrpkt2
It’s back to the future as Trump and congressional Republicans push for more health accounts and high deductibles.
https://kffhealthnews.org/news/article/trump-health-accounts-hsa-cash-patient-debt-high-deductible-insurance/
A clean extension of the PTC enhancements is the simplest, most effective way to prevent major coverage losses and allow people to get the health care they need in 2026. www.cbpp.org/blog/how-to-...
In sum, this proposal wld:
❌ allow dramatic premium spikes that will lead to fewer ppl w/health insurance
❌ drive ppl into lower value plans that leave them exposed to high medical bills, and
❌ be too complicated to implement before Jan 1 when millions of Americans face a doubling of their premiums.
The proposal wld also revive harmful policies Republicans tried to include in their reconciliation megabill that wld take coverage away from more people, including people eligible for Medicaid/CHIP, and punish states that use their own funds to assist people the federal government won’t.