Time is short for an ACA premium fix in the shutdown fight, says GOP insurance leader

"On Capitol Hill right now, there's a partisan argument over if and when lawmakers need to act to extend subsidies for the Affordable Care Act marketplaces. That's where 24 million people who don't have insurance through their jobs or a public program like Medicaid buy health plans. The argument is at the heart of the government shutdown that started Oct. 1. Democratic lawmakers say extending enhanced premium tax credits is urgent, with open enrollment weeks away."

""The window is rapidly closing," says Jon Godfread, North Dakota's insurance commissioner. He says the enhanced subsidies need to be extended before open enrollment starts Nov. 1. "Let's do this now." If lawmakers miss that deadline, he says, "it's going to be really, really challenging to go back [to consumers] and say, 'OK, now we fixed it, please come back and shop at this market that you were priced out of.' I just don't believe consumers are going to do that.""

""Red state, blue state, appointed, elected we have unanimous approval supporting these tax credits," he says. The insurance commissioners have been warning lawmakers about this impending problem for months. "Since January, to be honest we've sent four different letters," he says. He also spent the whole month of May in Washington D.C. meeting with members of Congress and explaining how an expiration of the enhanced premium tax credits will hit consumers very hard he calls it a "double hit.""

A partisan dispute on Capitol Hill centers on whether and when to extend enhanced premium tax credits for the Affordable Care Act marketplaces, which serve about 24 million people without employer or public coverage. Democratic lawmakers urge immediate extension before open enrollment begins Nov. 1; Republican lawmakers argue negotiation can wait because the subsidies expire in December. State insurance regulators across red and blue states warn that failing to extend the subsidies before open enrollment would sharply raise premiums, destabilize marketplaces, and deter consumers from returning. Regulators have repeatedly warned Congress since January and met with members in Washington to press for action.

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