AIRPORTS IMPROVE. SENATE DEMOCRATS DID NOT WIN A KEY PROVISION THEY WERE FIGHTING FOR IN THE SHUTDOWN NEGOTIATIONS, EXTENDING THE ENHANCED TAX CREDITS FOR THE AFFORDABLE CARE ACT, HEALTH CARE COVERAGE THAT ARE SET TO EXPIRE AT THE END OF THE YEAR. SENATE REPUBLICANS DID PROMISE THEM A VOTE ON THE EXTENSION. KCCI BEAU BOWMAN JOINS US IN THE STUDIO TO EXPLAIN THE LIKELIHOOD OF THAT HAPPENING. BO. YEAH, LAURA, THE VOTE IS SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN BEFORE THE END OF THE SECOND WEEK OF DECEMBER. BUT THE EXPERTS I SPOKE WITH TODAY SAY THE EXTENSION FACES QUITE THE UPHILL BATTLE. I WOULD SAY THAT THE CHANCES THAT THESE SUBSIDIES GET EXTENDED IS RELATIVELY LOW. CLAY THOMAS IS AN ASSISTANT TEACHING PROFESSOR AT IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY IN THE DEPARTMENT OF MANAGEMENT AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP. HE SAYS THERE ARE MANY HURDLES IN PLACE FOR A BILL EXTENDING THE SUBSIDIES. FIRST, IT WOULD NEED 60 VOTES TO PASS THE SENATE, WHICH MEANS 13 REPUBLICANS WOULD HAVE TO VOTE WITH THE DEMOCRATS. THEN IT WOULD NEED TO PASS THE HOUSE, WHERE LEADERSHIP HAS SHOWN NO DESIRE TO TAKE IT TO THE FLOOR. FINALLY, IT WOULD NEED A SIGNATURE FROM PRESIDENT TRUMP. THERE IS TIME TO DO LOBBYING TO YOUR ELECTED REPRESENTATIVES TO TRY TO CHANGE THEIR MIND. BUT WITHOUT WITHOUT THAT, I THINK THAT IT’S UNLIKELY THAT THEY WILL BE EXTENDED OPEN ENROLLMENT FOR 2026. COVERAGE IS WELL UNDERWAY, AND WHILE CONGRESS HAS FOUGHT OVER THE ENHANCED TAX CREDITS, THE PRICE OF PREMIUMS HAS ALREADY RISEN SIGNIFICANTLY. MANY COULD SEE THEIR MONTHLY COSTS DOUBLE OR EVEN TRIPLE, THOMAS SAYS. SOME HAVE DELAYED SIGNING UP, BUT OTHERS MAY END UP PASSING ON COVERAGE ALTOGETHER. THEY EITHER PAY A WHOLE BUNCH MORE MONEY FOR HEALTH CARE PREMIUMS, OR THEY CHOOSE TO GO WITHOUT. AND THERE ARE PREDICTIONS THAT UP LIKE SEVEN, 4 TO 7 MORE MILLION PEOPLE WILL CHOOSE TO JUST NOT HAVE HEALTH INSURANCE. THERE IS THE POSSIBILITY THAT AN EXTENSION IS PASSED MUCH LATER IN THE FIRST HALF OF 2026. AND WHILE THE LIKELIHOOD OF THAT IS ALSO LOW, THOMAS SAYS PEOPLE COULD SEEK RELIEF BY CLAIMING THE TAX CREDITS IN 2027. THINGS GET PASSED. PEOPLE COULD CLAIM TAX CREDITS RETROACTIVELY, BUT THEY’RE STILL GOING TO HAVE TO FRONT THE PREMIUM AGAIN. THAT VOTE IN THE SENATE IS SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN BEFORE THE END OF THE SECOND WEEK OF DECEMBER, WHICH WOULD BE THE 12TH OPEN ENROLLMENT.
Iowans face uncertainty surrounding ACA tax credit extension
A promised Senate vote on extending enhanced Affordable Care Act premium tax credits faces long odds, experts say.Clay Thomas, an assistant teaching professor at Iowa State University in the Department of Management and Entrepreneurship, said, “I would say that the chance that these subsidies get extended is relatively low.”The extension would need 60 votes in the Senate — meaning 13 Republicans would have to join Democrats — then pass the House, where leadership has shown little appetite to bring it to the floor, and finally win the signature of President Trump. Thomas said, “There is time to do lobbying to your elected representatives to try and change their mind, but without that, I think it’s unlikely they will be extended.”Open enrollment for 2026 coverage is underway, and premiums have already risen significantly; many enrollees could see monthly costs double or triple. Thomas said, “They either pay a whole bunch more money for health care premiums or they choose to go without, and there are predictions that 4-7 million more people will choose to just not have health insurance.”There remains a possibility an extension could be passed later, in the first half of 2026, and Thomas noted, “If things get passed people could claim tax credits retroactively, but they’re still going to have to front the premiums ” The Senate vote is scheduled before the end of the second week of December — Dec. 12 — while open enrollment closes Dec. 15.
A promised Senate vote on extending enhanced Affordable Care Act premium tax credits faces long odds, experts say.
Clay Thomas, an assistant teaching professor at Iowa State University in the Department of Management and Entrepreneurship, said, “I would say that the chance that these subsidies get extended is relatively low.”
The extension would need 60 votes in the Senate — meaning 13 Republicans would have to join Democrats — then pass the House, where leadership has shown little appetite to bring it to the floor, and finally win the signature of President Trump.
Thomas said, “There is time to do lobbying to your elected representatives to try and change their mind, but without that, I think it’s unlikely they will be extended.”
Open enrollment for 2026 coverage is underway, and premiums have already risen significantly; many enrollees could see monthly costs double or triple. Thomas said, “They either pay a whole bunch more money for health care premiums or they choose to go without, and there are predictions that 4-7 million more people will choose to just not have health insurance.”
There remains a possibility an extension could be passed later, in the first half of 2026, and Thomas noted, “If things get passed people could claim tax credits retroactively, but they’re still going to have to front the premiums ” The Senate vote is scheduled before the end of the second week of December — Dec. 12 — while open enrollment closes Dec. 15.
