The COVID-19 public health crisis has pushed our state to the brink — and we’re not yet out of the woods.
From our view on the frontline, the challenges of this pandemic have highlighted the importance of accessible and affordable health care for every resident of New Hampshire. All of us are susceptible to the coronavirus and no one should be without care.
Congress got us closer to accessible, affordable health care when it passed expanded subsidies earlier this year to help people with lower and middle incomes pay their premiums for coverage in the federal marketplace. Those subsidies, however, are set to expire soon. If Congress fails to extend current health coverage subsidies or make them permanent, millions of Americans will face significant premium increases when they seek 2023 coverage in the fall of 2022. Others could lose coverage altogether.
We can’t let that happen — Congress must act. Here’s why.
Health insurance coverage is still out of reach for many residents of New Hampshire. Far too many low-income and middle-class residents still can’t pay the high premiums on the price tag of health insurance plans. Current subsidies have helped thousands of enrollees purchase coverage in the federal marketplace at a price they can afford. If we can close more of the affordability gap, we’re able to achieve more health equity.
If current subsidy relief is allowed to expire, the Department of Health and Human Services estimates that approximately 12 million Americans would face premium increases of $600 per year. That kind of price hike could mean too many marketplace enrollees are priced out of coverage.
The Kaiser Family Foundation estimates that the lowest average monthly premium for health insurance in the federal marketplace for New Hampshire residents is just under $250. That’s still a lot of money every month for families trying to make ends meet. Federal subsidies that help reduce premiums mean more of our residents get the coverage they need.
Extending subsidies would have an even greater impact on the strength of our country’s health care system. Subsidies in the federal marketplace have already helped reduce the number of uninsured by a sizable margin. If made permanent they could reduce that number even more, allowing more than 18,000 New Hampshirites to access affordable care.
Since February, nearly 5,500 New Hampshire residents have signed up for health insurance through the federal marketplace, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Compare that to slightly more than 3,000 over the same time period in 2020 or nearly 2,500 in 2019. Subsidies are clearly making a difference.
We’ve come too far to lose the progress we’ve made in health care. Too many Americans depend on these subsidies for affordable access to reliable health care.
So how do we ensure these extensions remain in place? Right now, Congress is working on a budget proposal that would extend health care subsidies. New Hampshire’s marketplace enrollees need Sens. Maggie Hassan and Jeanne Shaheen to make sure these subsidies stay in the final budget that Congress is expected to pass in the coming months.
The stakes are too high. Our state, along with the rest of the country, is still in the midst of a public health crisis. Our fellow Americans deserve accessible health care without breaking the bank.
(Chris Peterson, MD, lives in Londonderry.)