Michigan health care advocates urged Congress to extend tax credits — set to expire at the end of the year — that have helped lower health insurance costs and increase insurance enrollment.
The Citizens Research Council of Michigan said it expects that eliminating the tax credits would cause health insurance premiums to skyrocket by hundreds of dollars a year on average.
Robert Schneider, a senior research associate with the council that the tax credits were enhanced in 2021 as part of the federal response to COVID-19, so more people could afford health care. Healthcare plans on the Affordable Care Act marketplace became cheaper for Michigan residents. (Marketplaces offer health care insurance plans for people whose income is too high to qualify for Medicaid but who do not have a job that provides health insurance.)
But Schneider said with the implementation of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which contains many of President Donald Trump's legislative priorities, this is changing.
Schneider said his group's research found that the loss of health coverage is linked to worsening health incomes and rising health care costs. Hospitals have an obligation to provide care even for people who can't pay, and that uncompensated care could negatively impact health care providers, resulting in a reduction of services and, in some cases, closures of hospitals.
Democratic Congresswoman Kristen McDonald Rivet (MI-08), who represents a mid-Michigan district that includes the cities of Midland, Saginaw, and Flint, said affordability is already a huge problem in her area. “It’s hard for folks to pay their electric bills, to afford groceries, housing, and childcare. … Families in my district are at a breaking point,” she said.
“Imagine the pain of that, when you know you can’t afford to take your child to the doctor,” McDonald Rivet said. “That’s the very real situation for people across our district. And, you know, this is not a partisan issue.”
McDonald Rivet said the loss of the tax credits could double some premiums. “On average, we’re going to see a 20% increase that amounts to over $730 per family in my district,” she said.
She said that the elimination of the tax cuts will impact everyone’s premiums, not just those in the Medicaid system. “We are calling on Republicans in Congress to support the reinstatement of tax cuts for working families across Michigan,” the congresswoman concluded.
A representative from Protect Our Care Michigan — a coalition of groups opposed to the Trump administration's changes to Medicaid — called it “reckless and irresponsible” to allow the tax credits to expire, saying it has the potential to raise healthcare costs and threaten Michigan families’ ability to see a doctor when necessary.
The Trump administration said its changes to Medicaid will save taxpayer money and root out waste, fraud, and abuse.
Some Republicans in Congress and members of the Trump administration have proposed expanding access to "catastrophic plans" as an answer. Those plans have been restricted mainly to people under 30 years old. They carry lower monthly premiums but require people to spend about $10,000 dollars out-of-pocket before insurance kicks in.
Schneider, with the Citizens Research Council, said another potential solution includes implementing a state-specific tax credit. “The key conclusion is that doing nothing will likely have long-term ramifications for families as the impacts of the loss of the credits and the loss of coverage will ripple through Michigan,” he said.
