Maine's Department of Health and Human Services said there's increasing urgency for Congress to renew enhanced premium tax credits for the health insurance marketplace, which are set to expire at the end of the year.
Hilary Schneider, director of Maine's Office of the Health Insurance Marketplace, said more than 50,000 Mainers qualify for the credits, which lower average monthly premiums by nearly $180.
"And so when you make those premiums — if these health care tax credits expire — we're looking at some people having their health care premiums increase by 200%," Schneider said.
And that would put health coverage out of reach for some, Schneider said.
"The people who will see the most disproportionately high impact are rural Mainers, older Mainers, so we're talking about the pre-retiree age," Schneider said, as well as workers in traditional industries such as lobstermen and households with children.
She said the enhanced tax credits need to be renewed as soon as possible because insurance carriers will file next year's proposed rates in just a few weeks and marketplaces are preparing for open enrollment in November.
The enhanced premium tax credits were implemented under the American Rescue Plan Act in 2021 and extended under President Biden's Inflation Reduction Act.
