Illustration: Brendan Lynch / Axios
A coalition pushing to renew enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies is arguing that allowing the tax credits to expire would more than cancel out many families' tax savings under the GOP domestic policy law.
Why it matters: ACA backers are trying to convince Republicans that they could lose a major political selling point in the midterms.
Driving the news: The group Keep Americans Covered is sending a chart to GOP offices comparing the increased premium costs for 22 million people on the ACA marketplaces with the savings those people would get from the tax cuts.
- A hypothetical family of four with a median income of $80,160 would gain $1,700 in tax cuts from the reconciliation bill but absorb a $2,947 premium increase if the ACA subsidies expire. That would result in a net $1,247 loss.
- There will be state-specific figures for all 50 states.
- Keep Americans Covered comprises patient groups, insurers, doctors, hospitals and other health groups pushing for the subsidy renewal.
The big picture: Renewing enhanced ACA subsidies has always been an uphill climb with GOP majorities in both houses, largely because of concerns about the $300 billion-plus cost over 10 years.
- Still, in recent weeks more GOP lawmakers have expressed some openness to an extension, perhaps wary of the political risk of allowing premium costs to rise in an election year.
