With Congress wrapping up 2025 without action on Affordable Care Act tax credits, Delaware’s Insurance Commissioner warns of tough times ahead.
More than 50,000 Delawareans are on Affordable Care Act plans. The state’s insurance commissioner, Trinidad Navarro, says his office has been hearing from them.
“We're not getting any happy calls," he says. "People are upset, especially this time of the year around the holidays, to learn that in some cases, their premiums for health insurance are going to double.”
Navarro says that as tax credits that helped Americans afford ACA coverage lapse, skyrocketing costs for policies could cause younger, healthier people not to purchase any insurance, raising costs further.
Still, Navarro says that his office is working closely with state legislators before they reconvene in Dover next month to find new ways to lower the cost of care, which could take some of the pressure off if the ACA credits are not reinstated.
“We need to take a real serious look at how we can bring down costs of care for folks who have to go to the hospital instead of a primary care doctor because they don't have insurance," he says.
While the House could vote on an extension of ACA credits next month, Navarro says that some damage has already been done and this year’s rates were set without accounting for the tax credits.
