Massachusetts is kicking in extra state dollars to help shield around 270,000 people from major health insurance cost spikes now that federal subsidies have expired.
The now-lapsed pandemic-era tax credits were a sticking point in last year’s government shutdown, with Democrats in Congress pushing to extend them. The U.S. House was slated to vote Thursday on renewing the subsidies, while the Senate has previously rejected a similar measure.
Gov. Maura Healey announced the additional state funding Thursday, while continuing her call for Congress and President Donald Trump to revive the Affordable Care Act tax credits.
“We can’t wait for Washington to act, so as governor, in the meantime, I want to do everything that we can to make sure that people can continue to have access to health care, have access to their health insurance,” Healey said.
The governor’s move sends $250 million from a state trust fund to the ConnectorCare program, subsidized insurance plans available through the Massachusetts Health Connector marketplace. It brings the total ConnectorCare funding to $600 million, which Healey’s office called “the largest state investment in the country.”
It will stabilize costs for people who get their insurance through ConnectorCare, who otherwise would face increases of hundreds of dollars a month without the federal subsidies.
Massachusetts residents are eligible for ConnectorCare coverage if their household incomes are between 100% and 400% of the federal poverty level, or up to $62,600 for an individual and $128,600 for a family of four. They must be U.S. citizens, nationals or lawfully present immigrants, and unable to access health insurance through an employer, Medicare or MassHealth.
“The state’s fiscal commitment to ConnectorCare means that the majority of individuals in Massachusetts whose tax credit amounts have been slashed by federal inaction will see either no premium increases or significantly lower premium increases than they’d see were it not for the ConnectorCare program,” Health Connector executive director Audrey Morse Gasteier said.
Of the 270,000 people slated to benefit from the aid, Morse Gasteier said there will be no premium increases at all for about a quarter of them.
Healey said the funding will help small business owners, families, seniors and individuals afford coverage.
Others in Massachusetts are still in line for higher insurance premiums.
Morse Gasteier said state officials are “really concerned” about approximately 27,000 people with household incomes “right over” 400% of the federal poverty level, who are losing the federal tax credits but don’t qualify for ConnectorCare.
“Those are the folks we’re seeing that have the starkest premium increases,” she said. “And I will note that the individuals in that population who are over 55, over 60, are seeing the toughest premium increases because of higher costs for older individuals.”
Amy Blackburn, interim executive director of Health Care For All, called Healey’s announcement an “important step.”
“We know from calls on our HelpLine that there is more work to do to build on this effort and to protect those that have already lost subsidized coverage or who are at risk of losing coverage in the next year,” Blackburn said in a statement. “We will continue to work with our state and federal partners to do everything we can for the most vulnerable and to maintain Massachusetts’ commitment to equitable, affordable coverage for everyone in the state.”
