CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) – Tax credits for the Affordable Care Act are set to expire at the end of the year, meaning health insurance premiums for millions will rise.
Terry Davis spent Saturday morning at Mercy Medical Center in Cedar Rapids getting help learning about enrolling in health insurance. With health care subsidies set to expire at the end of the year, she’s bracing for her premiums to become much more expensive.
“With them being taken away, it’s going to affect us quite a bit, it would make our insurance probably be at least $3,000 a month, there’s no way,” Davis said. “That’s gonna take all of my husband and I’s income and we are in our 60’s.”
Davis and her husband are self-employed, and she said they pay just under $500 a month. Part of the reason she came to Mercy Saturday is to figure out if there are cheaper alternatives to her current plan or if rising costs will force her to stop paying for insurance.
“I’m hoping to god we’re not, but I’m hoping we can try to keep it under that but I don’t know,” Davis said. “With that gone we’re probably looking at, I don’t know what we’re gonna do, honestly.”
Rising costs and general confusion surrounding insurance led others to seek help at Mercy Medical Center. Staff said it’s not uncommon for people to accidentally get plans that don’t cover their needs.
“So it’s very easy to get a plan that may not even cover your provider, or the hospital, or anything, you know if you have prescriptions, you need to make sure that they cover your prescriptions,” said Amy Hosek.
Davis hopes federal lawmakers will step in and work out a way to extend the subsidies. However, those odds seem bleak, as Senate Democrats’ push to extend those credits during the recent government shutdown didn’t end in a deal.
“We’re gonna have to work harder just to get through and be able to survive,” Davis said. “They need to understand where we’re coming from and help us all.”
If you need help learning about health insurance open enrollment, you can contact Mercy Medical Center’s Eligibility Team at 319-398-6479 or by email at eligibilitydeterminationteam@mercy.org.
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