Dear Member of Congress,
With only a few legislative days before the end of the year, we urge you to oppose any health care package that continues to raise costs or take away coverage and to vote instead to pass a clean extension of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) enhanced premium tax credits.
Health care costs in the U.S. were already high. Now, with nearly $1 trillion in cuts to health care over the summer and the ACA premium tax credits on the line, a dire situation has escalated into a full-blown crisis. Fifteen million people will already lose health care due to Medicaid cuts passed earlier this year. If Congress does not renew the ACA premium tax credits before they’re set to expire at the end of the year, then health care costs will more than double for over 20 million people, and nearly 5 million additional people will lose their health coverage altogether.
When millions become uninsured, it will strain the entire health care system, driving up costs across the board and forcing hundreds of hospitals, maternity wards, and nursing homes to close. Research has found that millions of Americans will collectively pay an estimated $23 billion more next year just to maintain the same level of coverage they currently rely on. This harms the economy and families alike.
A clean extension of the ACA tax credits is the only way to protect health care for the millions of people who obtain coverage through the ACA Marketplace and to implement plans quickly enough to prevent gaps in coverage and care. Please vote YES on a clean extension of the ACA tax credits and bring some much-needed relief to families.