Why Should Delaware Care?
A month into a federal government shutdown that’s roiled the nation, one low-income subsidy has been at the center of the debate over reopening the government. That program, which provides assistance for people enrolled in Affordable Care Act plans, could result in monthly premiums skyrocketing if it is not extended by Congress.
Gov. Matt Meyer and two other Democratic governors admonished the Trump administration on Friday, calling on congressional leaders to extend tax credits for the Affordable Care Act. Health care costs would skyrocket next year for millions of Americans currently benefiting from the enhanced subsidies if they are not extended.
Meyer, along with Gov. Laura Kelly (D-Kansas) and Gov. Andy Beshear (D-Kentucky), made their plea one day before enrollment for the Affordable Care Act marketplace opens for 2026.
The governors homed in on an upcoming spike in insurance premiums for those using the open marketplace. That spike is projected to raise costs by an average of 114%, according to nonpartisan health policy research group KFF.
Rising health care costs have been at the center of the ongoing federal government shutdown, with Democrats digging in their heels over extending the tax credits.
Congress first enhanced those credits – which essentially subsidize monthly bills for enrollees in the health insurance marketplace – during the COVID pandemic, but that increase is set to expire at the end of this year.
In September, Meyer and 17 other Democratic state governors sent a letter to leaders in Congress pleading with them to extend the boosted form of tax credits for the Affordable Care Act. At the time, Meyer’s office said the health care premiums could increase an average of $700 if the boosted credits aren’t renewed.
Using the government’s online health insurance marketplace, individuals can preview what their plan may look like going into 2026 and cross reference it against 2025 prices.
Potential impacts on Delawareans
Using this tool, Spotlight Delaware created three different hypothetical families eligible for tax credits to determine how plans may change for residents across the state. It is important to note these prices would vary from person to person depending on insurance eligibility, smoker status and the number of children they have.
In one of these hypotheticals, a 64-year-old single woman living in Seaford making $57,000 a year may pay $459.50 a month for a standard silver marketplace plan – $90 more than 2025.
But if those credits lapse, she would pay $1,608.50 a month.
Another hypothetical family of four living in Newark with an annual household income of $110,000 would see their monthly premiums on a silver plan jump from $609.05 with the credits to $2,322.15 without them.
A couple in their early 50s living in Dover and making $87,000 a year who were eligible for credits in 2025 but not in 2026 would pay $1,905.22 more a month.
When asked on Friday if the state would step in to subsidize insurance premiums should the shutdown not lead to compromise on the Affordable Care Act, Meyer said he did not want to speculate on what the federal government was going to do.
The Congressional Budget Office predicted that if the premium tax credits were to be permanently extended, it could raise the national deficit by over $350 billion over the next decade.
Meyer said that figure alone would pose a serious challenge for states to supplant.
“I don’t think there’s a state government in the country that can sustainably step in for a federal government that’s not fulfilling its promise to the American people,” Meyer said during the press conference.
