As the Senior Voice January 2026 edition was going to print, Congress was still tied in knots about whether to extend the Affordable Care Act’s enhanced premium tax credits, which were set to expire Dec. 31.
The U.S. House of Representatives passed a Republican-backed health care bill in mid-December that does not include an extension of expiring tax credits that help millions of Americans pay for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. Four Republican members of Congress sided with Democrats’ petition to try to force a vote on extending the tax credits.
The Senate, where a similar extension received 51 votes earlier in the month, fell short of the 60 necessary to pass. Alaska’s Sen. Lisa Murkowski and Sen. Dan Sullivan voted for the extension.
KFF, a nonpartisan health care policy organization, posted a commentary by Larry Levitt, KFF’s executive vice president for health policy on Dec. 17 which said, “There is no absolute drop-dead date for extending them. ACA enrollees would welcome premium relief whenever it comes.”
The ACA premium tax credits, or subsidies, exist because during the COVID-19 pandemic, Congress passed the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) which temporarily increased tax credits available for adults buying their own health insurance through the ACA marketplace. These enhanced tax credits increased the financial assistance available to existing marketplace enrollees who already qualified for financial help and extended financial assistance to some middle-income adults who were previously not eligible for premium tax credits. The tax credits were extended as part of the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act and are set to expire at the end of 2025.
If Congress does not extend the tax credits beyond 2025, premium payments will increase 114% on average, and likely more in Alaska, for the 22 million people who currently get a tax credit.
KFF surveyed 1,350 adults in fall 2025 who purchase coverage on the ACA marketplaces. It found that one in three ACA marketplace enrollees say they would “very likely” seek a cheaper plan, and one out of four said they “very likely” would forgo health insurance.
