ICYMI: New Poll Shows Overwhelming Majority of Americans – Including 57% of MAGA Republicans – Support Extending ACA Tax Credits That Allow Tens of Millions to Access Health Care

(Washington, DC) – Today, U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH),lead author of bicameral legislationthat would permanently extend Affordable Care Act (ACA) enhanced premium tax credits, is toutinga new Kaiser Family Foundation pollshowing that an overwhelming majority of Americans support extending ACA enhanced premium tax credits that allow tens of millions of Americans to access health care.
Key findings:
If Republicans allow the enhanced premium tax credits to expire, annual out-of-pocket premium costs will more than double for ACA Marketplace enrollees on average. Without extension of these tax credits, 4 million Americans could lose their coverage and 24 million more could see significantly higher premiums.
The new poll represents another political pressure point for Republicans in Congress and the White House, asnew reporting indicates the White House is increasingly worriedabout losing the health care policy fight. Pollsters aligned with President Trump—Tony Fabrizio and Bob Ward—foundoverwhelming bipartisan supportfor the tax credits, and anotherwarnedthat Republicans’ failure to act would result in significant political consequences.
“The overwhelming majority of Americans—Republicans, Democrats and Independents—support extending the ACA enhanced premium tax credits because they know that working Americans can’t afford to see their premiums double,”said Senator Shaheen."If we wait until the last minute, millions of Americans will lose their health coverage. There is a real urgency to extending these tax credits and given how many of our constituents would be impacted if they expire, I’m urging my colleagues across the aisle to help find a path forward.”
Shaheen?is leading efforts?in Congress to make health care more affordable through the preservation and extension of enhanced premium tax credits. Shaheen’s first bill introduction this Congress was her landmark?Health Care Affordability Act—bicameral legislation with Senator Baldwin and U.S. Congresswoman Lauren Underwood (IL-14) to permanently extend the tax credits for Marketplace coverage that have lowered health care costs for millions of Americans.
This week, Shaheenhosted a spotlight forumon the need for Congress to extend the soon-expiring tax credits that have made health care more affordable for tens of millions of Americans. The spotlight forum, entitled “The Clock is Ticking: Why Congress Must Extend the Enhanced Premium Tax Credits” featured several Democratic Senators and four witnesses.
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