More than 120,000 tribal members in the U.S. are expected to lose marketplace insurance coverage because of the expiration of enhanced subsidies.
Clarissa Sabattis, chief of the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians, says that will place further strain on local tribal health clinics because they won't be able to bill insurance companies. And it will also affect their ability to cover costs when they refer patients to hospital care.
"We help with copayments and stuff like that typically, but there will be things that we just aren't able to cover," she says.
Sabattis notes that rural hospitals are also under financial strain and have limited ability to absorb extra costs. Supporters of enhanced premium tax credits say the entire health system — and not just those who receive the subsidies — will be affected when they expire at the end of the year.
