By John L. Micek
masslive.com
(TNS)
Gov. Maura Healey on Tuesday called on Congress to approve an extension of Affordable Care Act tax credits, warning that health care costs for millions of Americans would skyrocket if lawmakers fail to act.
“These are our small business owners, self-employed people, middle-class families and single parents. Women with breast cancer will lose access to treatment,” the Democratic governor said in a statement.
“People with heart disease won’t get the care they desperately need. Children won’t get the medicine they need for asthma. No one can afford this,” she continued. “We need President [Donald] Trump and Congressional Republicans to do their jobs and vote to lower people’s health costs on Thursday.”
Earlier this year, Democrats on Capitol Hill pushed for a free-standing vote on the credits, which are set to expire at year’s end, in exchange for their votes to end the historic federal government shutdown.
The U.S. Senate is expected to vote on the proposal as soon as Thursday.
U.S. Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., has said the bill will be a “clean” three-year extension of the enhanced Obamacare credits that first passed in 2021, NBC News reported. They cap premiums at an average of 8.5% of income, and “every single Democrat will support it.”
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But the legislation is certain to fail, according to NBC News, because many Republican senators want the funds to expire. They have argued that the COVID-era program was intended to be temporary and is no longer needed, the network reported.
Meanwhile, the state’s Health Connector’s new web portal makes it easier for residents to access cost information about health coverage options, Healey’s office said in a statement. The site features a ‘Get an Estimate’ tool that the administration said makes it easier for people to see what plans and premiums may be available to them.
“Our enrollees and new applicants need information and a clear picture of what they are facing next year,” Audrey Morse Gasteier, the Health Connector’s executive director, said in the administration’s statement.
“Taking a few minutes to use the tool is worth it for enrollees and new applicants to make sure they understand their options for next year,” Gasteier said.
On Monday, state Attorney General Andrea J. Campbell, joined by 21 attorneys general from across the country, sent congressional leaders a letter urging them to reject efforts to tie restrictions on abortion to the tax credit extension.
A fight over the Hyde Amendment, which bars federal funding for abortion, has emerged as a major sticking point as lawmakers try to get a deal, Politico reported earlier this month.
That would amount to a “backdoor ban” on abortion care, Campbell argued.
Photo caption: Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey (via Facebook)
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©2025 Advance Local Media LLC. Visit masslive.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency LLC.
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