Summary
- Gov.
Jared Polis urges Colorado delegation to extend tax credit. - Enhanced
premium tax credit set to expire at the end of 2025. - Without
extension, Coloradans face 170%-330% premium increases. - Small
businesses, rural hospitals, and families to be hit hardest.
The Affordable Care Act created the enhanced premium tax
credit for individuals who purchase insurance through the individual
marketplace, and during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Biden administration
extended and expanded it.
When Democrats held a majority in Congress, they endorsed
the credit’s creation, growth, and extension.
Under a Republican-controlled Congress, it is scheduled to
expire this year, and analysts caution that insurance rates may soar.
“Colorado has done everything we can at the state level to
blunt the damage of H.R.1 and the loss of the tax credit, but only Congress can
stop these massive premium increases and the resulting loss of coverage for
hundreds of thousands of hard-working Coloradans and their families,”
Polis, along
with Lt. Gov. Dianna Primavera, wrote to the state’s 10-member congressional
delegation in a Tuesday letter, referring to the massive federal spending and
tax cut bill passed this summer.
According to Polis, residents of the Western Slope will be
most affected,
with average premium increases for Colorado residents who purchase insurance
through the marketplace reaching 170%. In Garfield County, the increases are
anticipated to be 262%, while in Delta and Montrose counties, they will exceed
330%.
A bipartisan bill to extend the tax credit for another year
was signed last week by U.S. Representative Jeff Hurd, who represents the Western
Slope counties in Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District. Thus far, he is the
sole Colorado representative on it.
“Families in Colorado shouldn’t be faced with higher health
care costs because Washington failed to act,”
Hurd said in a statement.
“Extending
the Premium Tax Credit for another year gives Colorado families real stability
while we work towards a permanent solution.”
The bill’s proposed extension would postpone the matter
until after the midterm elections in 2026.
In his letter, Polis encouraged an extension of the credit
but did not specifically declare that he supported that bill.
During the August special legislative session, Colorado
lawmakers approved a package to mitigate the premium hikes by injecting up to
$100 million. The sale of insurance premiums and business tax credits are the
sources of that funding.
“Even with these steps at the state level, without
congressional action to extend the tax credit, we project more than 75,000
Coloradans will still lose access to affordable health care in 2026, and rural
communities will face premium increases of 300 percent or more,” Polis wrote.
A social media post by Texas Republican U.S. Representative
Chip Roy opposing a tax credit extension was met with the response,
“Absolutely agree!” from U.S. Representative Lauren Boebert. A
request for comment from the offices of U.S. Reps. Jeff Crank and Gabe Evans,
the other Republicans in the delegation, were not immediately answered.
What are the proposed funding options for extending the tax
credit?
The most straightforward option is simply extending current
provisions without new revenue sources, which would increase federal spending
but preserve access for millions.
Some proposals aim to modify the credit by phasing in
benefits more gradually or expanding eligibility to more low-income families or
those with newborns, which would raise costs but target aid more effectively.
To fund extensions or expansions, lawmakers could introduce
new revenue measures such as closing tax loopholes, increasing taxes on high
earners or corporations, or limiting certain deductions.
