By Rep. Kweisi Mfume
Now that the Republican sponsored shutdown is over and federal employees are returning to work, I am angered, like many of you, that the legislation passed by the United States Senate failed to address the looming health care crisis that will immediately develop when enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies expire at the end of this year. The consequences of allowing these credits to expire will be staggering, and Congress must act immediately to extend them and keep health care affordable for working families.
Here in Baltimore and across the United States, millions of Americans are enrolled in health care plans through the Affordable Care Act (the ACA, often called Obamacare). Of the 24 million enrollees, roughly 90 percent are recipients of enhanced subsidies that reduce the cost of their monthly premiums. In Maryland alone, the Health Benefit Exchange has announced a 13 percent premium increase for 2026 – but for the nearly 200,000 Marylanders receiving these enhanced subsidies, the true increase will be as much as 35-50 percent.
What will be the consequences of this unconscionable price hike? Experts estimate that, without an extension of these subsidies, premiums will increase for Obamacare enrollees by an average of 75 percent. With so many in the greater Baltimore area already struggling with the price of groceries and utilities, many will be forced to make the difficult decision to drop their health care coverage, thereby placing their families at risk of financial ruin in the event of unexpected medical expenses. As many as four million Americans will likely lose their health coverage altogether beginning next year, with substantially increased prices for 20 million more. Open enrollment here in Maryland began on Nov. 1, so families and individuals shopping for their 2026 health care plans are already being faced with sticker shock.
The near-universal Republican opposition in the Congress to the extension of these Affordable Care Act subsidies truly baffles the mind. The extension would be overwhelmingly popular – roughly 3 in 4 Americans are in support, including 94 percent of Democrats, 76 percent of Independents, and 50 percent of Republicans – and it is their constituents who are the most vulnerable, with some 57 percent of Obamacare enrollees living in Republican congressional districts and red states.
Like here in the greater Baltimore area, people across the country are hurting. They expect that their elected officials will find a solution. Shame on Donald Trump, who loves to make deals, for not supporting our deal to bring down costs when so many people across this nation need it.
The opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the writer and not necessarily those of the AFRO.