WASHINGTON (Nov. 19, 2025)
βIt Is Not Too Lateβ: State Insurance Regulators Again Urge Congress to Extend ACA Enhanced Premium Tax Credits
Ahead of todayβs U.S. Senate Finance Committee hearing on rising healthcare costs, the ΒιΆΉΤ΄΄ (ΒιΆΉΤ΄΄) sent a letter to congressional leadership yesterday once again urging immediate action to extend enhanced premium tax credits under the Affordable Care Act. This marks the fifth letter the ΒιΆΉΤ΄΄ has sent to Congress since July 2024 regarding the tax credits, which are scheduled to expire at the end of 2025.
βWe know the enhanced credits have delivered crucial stability and affordability to individual health insurance markets in our states,β said the ΒιΆΉΤ΄΄βs officers. βThe anticipated end of the enhanced credits, however, is disrupting those markets with higher premiums, insurer exits, and steep expected declines in enrollment β in particular, we expect reduced enrollment of young and healthy consumers.β
The insurance regulators urged Congress to act before Dec. 15, the deadline for most consumers to choose coverage that would start on Jan 1, 2026. They noted that β[w]ithout an extension of the credits, the average consumer will see out-of-pocket premiums more than double what they paid in 2025, with many seeing even larger increases.β
Said the officers, βWe also urge Congress to include in legislation to extend the credits a clarification on [Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Servicesβ (CMS)] authority to work with states in making updates to health insurance rates in the individual market so that the benefit of the credits can be realized by consumers as soon as possible.β
Any data-driven adjustments would be βmade under existing state authorities on a state-by-state basis,β but β[t]here is currently uncertainty about whether CMS has the authority to allow mid-year rate adjustments for Marketplace coverage.β The officers continued, βSpecifying this authority and the need to work in coordination with states in making mid-year adjustments would avoid uncertainties that could keep rates too high longer than necessary.β
In closing, the officers reiterated state insurance regulatorsβ readiness to discuss the issue further with Congress and to work with legislators to address the underlying causes driving up healthcare costs and health insurance premiums.
ΒιΆΉΤ΄΄ the ΒιΆΉΤ΄΄
As part of our state-based system of insurance regulation in the United States, the ΒιΆΉΤ΄΄ (ΒιΆΉΤ΄΄) provides expertise, data, and analysis for insurance commissioners to effectively regulate the industry and protect consumers. The U.S. standard-setting organization is governed by the chief insurance regulators from the 50 states, the District of Columbia and five U.S. territories. Through the ΒιΆΉΤ΄΄, state insurance regulators establish standards and best practices, conduct peer reviews, and coordinate regulatory oversight. ΒιΆΉΤ΄΄ staff supports these efforts and represents the collective views of state regulators domestically and internationally.