House Democrats Call for Permanent Premium Credit Expansion

April 7, 2021

The Honorable Nancy Pelosi
Speaker
United States House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515

The Honorable Charles E. Schumer
Majority Leader
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510

Dear Speaker Pelosi and Majority Leader Schumer:

Thank you for your leadership on the passage of the American Rescue Plan, a momentous law that is saving lives and livelihoods. Our communities are already seeing the benefits of this legislation: there is more money in pockets, vaccines in arms, kids are getting back to school safely, and — especially critical in the midst of a once-in-a-century health crisis — more Americans now have access to quality, affordable health care.

Thanks to provisions in the American Rescue Plan that expand advance premium tax credits (APTCs), individuals and families across the country are seeing their health care costs decrease substantially. Monthly premiums for Marketplace plans will decrease by $50 per person on average, allowing four out of five enrollees to find a health insurance plan for $10 or less per month. And an average of three out of five uninsured eligible adults may be able to enroll in a zero-premium plan.¹

For some households, the savings will be even more significant: a family of four making $90,000 will see their premiums decrease by $200 per month, while an uninsured couple earning more than $70,000 could save more than $1,000 per month.² Americans with lower incomes will be able to find coverage without paying any monthly premium at all.³ In fact, 1.8 million uninsured people are estimated to be eligible for a plan with no premium costs and 3.6 million uninsured Americans will become newly eligible for premium tax credits.⁴ These savings are immediate and provide financial relief at a time when hard-working families need it the most.

As you know, this historic progress was hard fought. Republicans spent a decade sabotaging and trying to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA), and the American people made their support for the law known when they elected a new Democratic House majority dedicated to protecting the ACA in 2018. In the 116^th Congress, under the leadership of Speaker Pelosi and House Committee Chairs, the House passed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Enhancement Act (H.R. 1425), sweeping health care legislation designed to dramatically lower health coverage costs for millions of Americans and dramatically lower prescription drug prices. Although the legislation passed the House with bipartisan support, it did not advance in the Republican-controlled Senate.

We write to urge you to make these historic health care improvements permanent at your first legislative opportunity, including in a forthcoming infrastructure package. The American people are counting on us to ensure quality, affordable coverage remains accessible not only during the immediate aftermath of this pandemic, but indefinitely. Permanently reducing and capping out-of-pocket premium costs by including provisions like the Health Care Affordability Act (H.R. 369) would achieve this goal and ensure Americans do not face steep premium increases when section 9661 of the American Rescue Plan expires in 2023.

With new leadership in the Senate and White House, we have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to make high-quality care affordable and accessible for every American. We cannot let this moment pass: we urge you to make the health care affordability provisions of the American Rescue Plan permanent in the next legislative package that is negotiated in Congress.

Thank you for your continued commitment to protecting health care and lowering health care costs For the People. On behalf of the people we represent, we look forward to continuing to build on the historic progress we have made to ensure every American has high-quality, affordable health care.

Sincerely,

Lauren Underwood
Member of Congress

Lucy McBath
Member of Congress

Ted Deutch
Member of Congress

Susan Wild
Member of Congress

Tom Malinowski
Member of Congress

Colin Allred
Member of Congress

Sean Casten
Member of Congress

Angie Craig
Member of Congress

Bobby L. Rush
Member of Congress

Jahana Hayes
Member of Congress

Sanford D. Bishop, Jr.
Member of Congress

Nikema Williams
Member of Congress

Juan Vargas
Member of Congress

Joe Neguse
Member of Congress

Darren Soto
Member of Congress

Terri A. Sewell
Member of Congress

Danny K. Davis
Member of Congress

Mary Gay Scanlon
Member of Congress

Cindy Axne
Member of Congress

Mike Quigley
Member of Congress

Kim Schrier, M.D.
Member of Congress

Betty McCollum
Member of Congress

Al Lawson
Member of Congress

Brad Schneider
Member of Congress

Nanette Diaz Barragán
Member of Congress

Haley Stevens
Member of Congress

Bill Foster
Member of Congress

Elaine G. Luria
Member of Congress

Veronica Escobar
Member of Congress

Eleanor Holmes Norton
Member of Congress

Steve Cohen
Member of Congress

David Trone
Member of Congress

Earl Blumenauer
Member of Congress

Marie Newman
Member of Congress

Abigail Davis Spanberger
Member of Congress

Cheri Bustos
Member of Congress