Texas residents, hospitals prepare for insurance premiums to soar

Texans prepare for increased insurance premiums

Less than a week before Congress takes its holiday break, and lawmakers are nowhere near close to a deal on the Affordable Care Act ahead of the new year.

DALLAS - Less than a week before Congress takes its holiday break, and lawmakers are nowhere near close to a deal on the Affordable Care Act ahead of the new year.

Insurance agents, hospital board members, and Texans in dire need of health care are bracing for the impact of premium prices that are expected to skyrocket. 

Two separate bills to address the expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies failed in the Senate Thursday, all but guaranteeing that more than 22 million Americans will see their health insurance premiums rise significantly next year.

Texas insurance agents weigh in

What they're saying:

"I have single moms going from not paying anything for a really good plan, to paying a hundred dollars a month, and when they're making, you know, twelve dollars an hour, that's a lot of money coming out of their budget," Cunningham said.

Independent insurance agent Tina Cunningham says people renewing health insurance through the Affordable Care Act are already experiencing pain, as they are re-enrolling based on increased premiums.

"On the upper end, I've got people falling off the cliff," Cunningham said.

"I've got a gentleman right now that has cancer. He retired early and has a good pension, but he makes too much money to qualify for a tax credit, and he went from paying $500 a month to now having to pay $1,800 a month for a full-price plan, and he has cancer. He can't go get another plan, and so, as he told me, he either pays $1,800 a month or he dies," Cunningham said.

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Senate blocks ACA subsidies extension: What this means for your health insurance

The Senate on Thursday rejected legislation to extend Affordable Care Act tax credits. Here's what we know.

Hard choices people have to make with the Affordable Care Act subsidies likely coming to an end.

"The government subsidies with them running out. It's obviously showing us that the Affordable Care Act is anything but affordable," said independent insurance agent Amy Gerardis. 

An issue Amy Gerardis knows is both red and blue.

"You've got people hurting on both sides of the aisle who can't afford their premiums. So, we really need our congressmen to come together and really work this out," Gerardis said.

While affordable may be a misnomer, millions have been able to have health insurance with the government's help. That help ends Dec. 31, with no agreement in congress on how to cover costs.

Texas hospitals prepare

DFW Hospital Council's Stephen Love hopes Congress can come to some sort of resolution in time to help those who need it. 

"The best short-term fix, I hope, is maybe a group on both sides will collaboratively work together and figure out some time period to extend the enhanced premium tax credits, because it could affect four million Texans," said Love.

Thursday night, President Donald Trump at the White House Congressional Ball suggested he would work with Democrats. 

"I really believe we can work on health care together and come up with something that's going to be much better, much less expensive for the people — less expensive for our nation," Trump said. 

What happens if ACA subsidies expire? 

Why you should care:

If Congress doesn’t act, millions of people will see increases in their premium payments when the tax credits expire in January. 

By the numbers:

According to KFF, a major health care policy research organization, more than 22 million people benefit from the tax credits. Without them, health care premium payments are expected to increase an average of 114%, KFF found.

RELATED: 1 in 4 Affordable Care Act enrollees say they would go 'uninsured' if tax credits expire: poll

Roughly 25% of Americans who get their health insurance through the Affordable Care Act Marketplace say they would likely go uninsured if Congress doesn’t extend the enhanced tax credits, a recent KFF survey found.