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AUCD’s Maternal and Child Health Engagement supports the Autism CARES Programs, including LEND and DBP Programs.
AUCD’s Public Health Team works to create health promotion and public health efforts that include people with disabilities.
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AUCD's Disability Policy News (DPN) is a weekly newsletter highlighting federal policy issues affecting people with disabilities and their families. DPN features updates in plain language and action steps that people can take to educate policymakers. DPN is published every Friday.
In this edition:
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) tax credits will expire at the end of the year. If Congress doesn’t take action to extend them, many Americans will see their healthcare premiums more than double in January.
On Wednesday, the House of Representatives voted to pass House Republicans’ healthcare bill. According to a new report from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the legislation would decrease the number of people with health insurance by an average of 100,000 and would reduce the deficit by $35.6 billion. It does not include an extension of the ACA tax credits and Democrats aren’t supportive of it. The House and Senate took their last votes of the year on Thursday.
The healthcare fight in Congress has led to tensions between two factions within the Republican caucus. There are those who are pushing for an extension of the tax credits because they are concerned about the skyrocketing healthcare costs their constituents will soon face, and those who believe the ACA is so flawed that any element of it that can be curbed should be. Because the ACA tax credits will not be extended by the end of the year, they will expire, leaving many people with much more expensive premiums each month.
Many people are able to pay less for healthcare every month because of something called "tax credits." A tax credit is an amount of money that people can save when they file their taxes. Usually, they are a reward from the federal government. For example, if the federal government wants more people to get health insurance, they might offer a tax credit to people who get health insurance. The Affordable Care Act has special tax credits that will end on December 31, 2025. Democrats want to make sure that people can still use these tax credits in the future so they can save money and afford healthcare. Some Republicans also want people to be able to keep using the tax credits. Some Republicans and Democrats have different bills that would extend the tax credits for a while longer, but those bills are not making progress in Congress.
On Wednesday, the House of Representatives voted to pass House Republicans’ healthcare bill. The bill would decrease the number of people with health insurance. The Congressional Budget Office did a report on the bill, and they say that about 100,000 people could lose their health insurance. The bill would save the government money. The CBO says it would save the government $35.6 billion. It does not include an extension of the ACA tax credits. Democrats aren’t supportive of it. The House and Senate took their last votes of the year on Thursday.
There has been disagreement between two different groups of Republican lawmakers in Congress. Some of them want to extend the tax credits because they are worried about the big healthcare costs that people will have if the tax credits go away. Other lawmakers believe the Affordable Care Act is a bad law. They think that because the tax credits are from the ACA and they were created during COVID, they should end. Because the ACA tax credits will not be extended by the end of the year, they will go away. Many people will have to pay a lot more for healthcare every month starting in January.
View past issues of Disability Policy News to learn more about AUCD's policy priorities and how you can engage in policy actions.
