Vote and then Help the ACA

A free public service for a better community

Nov 04, 2024

A Good Day To Advocate for Better Healthcare

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The dog and cat pictures are due to the extensive stress. I find if I look at them I feel a little better - AFTER TAKING ACTION!

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VOTE ACCORDINGLY UP AND DOWN THE BALLOT AND MAKE SURE YOU’RE VOTING FOR PEOPLE WHO PROTECT RIGHTS

Healthcare Rights

Reproductive Rights

Civil Rights

Voting Rights

Thank you & take a friend to vote with you when you go.

ACA Insurance Needs Our Attention

This newsletter is a proponent of Universal Healthcare. Coverage for everyone, cradle to grave. Until we have it in place we have to deal with the separate insurance schemes. Tricare, VA, Medicare (traditional and Part C the disadvantage), Medicaid, employer sponsored plans and plans offered by the Affordable Care Act.

Below is a portion of an article on the ACA and the subsidies offered by the federal government from the Center for American Progress. If we don’t have Universal healthcare which is $400 billion cheaper every year than what we have, then we need to make sure that those who can’t get Medicaid, can get an ACA policy. Subsidies help make that happen.

Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace open enrollment began on November 1. Thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), millions of Americans will once again benefit from enhanced tax credits that will lower the cost of their premiums in 2025. These enhanced tax credits have helped drop the nation’s uninsured rate to historic lows, reduced racial disparities in coverage, and allowed states to experiment with making their ACA marketplace coverage even more affordable to consumers, including by offering deductible-free coverage. This could be the last open enrollment where consumers will see such low premium costs: Unless Congress extends the enhanced tax credits or makes them permanent, the enhancements will expire at the end of 2025—causing premiums to increase for 20 million people and leaving 5 million Americans uninsured by 2026.

IRA enhanced tax credits led to historic coverage gains and improved affordability in 2024

Nearly 1 in 7 Americans—roughly 50 million people—have enrolled in marketplace coverage since the marketplaces’ launch in 2014.
Last year, more than 21.4 million people enrolled in marketplace coverage, a record high.
Coverage gains were driven partially by the IRA’s enhanced tax credits that helped improve premium affordability: The IRA made tax credits more generous for people previously eligible for them; expanded eligibility for tax credits to people in households earning more than 400 percent of the federal poverty level—who previously received no financial assistance to purchase coverage; and capped the costs of premiums for marketplace plans at 8.5 percent of household income.
In 2024, 4 out of 5 HealthCare.gov consumers could select a plan with a monthly premium of $10 or less after the tax credit.
The enhanced tax credits also made more generous coverage less expensive. As a result, in 2024, nearly twice as many people (10.6 million) enrolled in plans with reduced deductibles than did in 2020 (5.7 million).

IRA enhanced tax credits narrowed coverage disparities and allowed states to offer deductible-free insurance plans

The enhanced tax credits helped bring down uninsurance rates among communities that have historically faced barriers to coverage: Between 2020 and 2023, Black and Latino enrollment in ACA marketplace plans grew by an astounding 95 percent and 103 percent, respectively.
States such as California and New Mexico are leveraging the enhanced tax credits to reduce or to eliminate deductibles for some marketplace plans and are rolling out standardized plan designs that increase access to services with lower out-of-pocket costs. Making the enhanced tax credits permanent is essential for the long-term viability of these state affordability policies.

What will happen if the enhanced tax credits expire at the end of next year?

If Congress does not act and the enhanced tax credits expire at the end of 2025:
- Nearly 20 million enrollees would see premium increases beginning in 2026, and an estimated 5 million people would become uninsured within two years.
- Premiums will skyrocket, rising most steeply for enrollees who are lower-income, older, or have household incomes above 400 percent of the federal poverty level. For example, a 45-year-old man in Wisconsin making $60,000 per year would see his premium increase by $1,354, and a young Pennsylvania family of four with a $125,000 annual income would see their premium increase by $6,448.

Conclusion

The 2025 ACA open enrollment period represents a critical juncture in the future of affordable marketplace coverage. Without swift congressional action to extend the enhanced premium tax credits, historic coverage gains could be reversed, leaving millions uninsured or underinsured.

Action

Call or email your Senators and Members of Congress and let them know that IRA improved ACA subsidies will expire at the end of 2025 and that 5 million will lose insurance and 20 million will see significant premium increases You can reach them here, https://www.usa.gov/elected-officials.

Or use RESISTBOT via [Apple Messages /MESSENGER] or by texting SIGN PLUJJK to 50409 on your cell phone to send this message.

“I am your constituent and I want you to know that IRA improved ACA subsidies will expire next year unless you act. This will leave at least 25 million of us in serious trouble. According to an analysis by the Center for American Progress, 20 million will have serious premium increases in 2026 and 5 million won’t be able to afford insurance at all. Of course, all of these people are unable to get Medicaid.

Look, the real answer is Universal Healthcare which saves the US a minimum of $400 billion every year, according to the CBO. Until you pass that tens of millions of us will need help paying ACA premiums. I want you to extend the ACA premium subsidies in place now, thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act and help your constituents who need help. Thank you

Here is a link to the article I mentioned, https://www.americanprogress.org/article/what-to-know-ahead-of-2025-affordable-care-act-open-enrollment/

RESOURCES

Find My Elected Officials

Contact State and Federal Representatives - phone and email

https://www.usa.gov/elected-officials

Healthcare Advocacy (Us) Website

Our Newsletter resources including reproductive healthcare - Healthcare Advocacy Reading List

Important Healthcare Resources

League of Women Voters Healthcare Reform Toolkit

Organizations to Contact

National Nurses United Medicare4All

Physicians for a National Health Program

One Payer States

Healthcare Now

Reproductive Health

NARAL - Pro Choice America

Charley. chatbot abortion resource - make sure to use a secure incognito browser if you live in a state that has banned abortion

Planned Parenthood

Miscarriage and Abortion Hotline has references about where to procure abortion medications. They also assist women in the process of self managed abortion or miscarriage by phone or text and will respond in an hour. Details and hours of operation at their website.

United State of Women Reproductive health page (bottom of the page) has important resources such as medical support, access to Telehealth, prescriptions by mail, and legal support references.

Practice careful communications - The Digital Defense Fund has a number of tips to keep texts, calls, and internet use private. Here is their site.