ICYMI: Nearly 400,000 Virginians Bracing for Premium Hikes As Open Enrollment Begins

Virginia Beach, VA – Today, November 1st, open enrollment for marketplace health insurance under the Affordable Care Act begins, giving families until January 15th to select plans for the upcoming year. 

Working families are bracing for sharply higher insurance premiums, as Republicans in Congress still refuse to permanently extend the health care tax credits. Without them, working families who buy their health insurance through the Affordable Care Act are looking at the possibility of their premiums doubling. Nearly 400,000 Virginians and over 30,000 of Rep. Jen Kiggans’ constituents are set to face insurance premium increases. A 60-year-old couple making $85,000 could face an increase of over $1,000 per month on a Sentara Health Plan. 

Rep. Kiggans has presented a bill to extend the health care tax credits by one year as a stopgap, but has indicated an unwillingness to permanently extend the credits, stating “we don’t need these,” and continued to echo that sentiment, including recently on a tele-townhall.

“I rely on the Affordable Care Act to afford health insurance. I was laid off in 2018, and I have type 1 diabetes. I rely on the Affordable Care Act, knowing that I can’t be denied for a pre-existing condition for affordable health insurance,” said Stacy Fishkin from Virginia Beach. “If these tax credits expire, premiums could jump by hundreds of dollars overnight. I don’t understand how Rep Kiggans can say ‘we don’t need this’ when families across her district rely on them.”

“It’s unconscionable that Rep. Kiggans knows over 30,000 of her own constituents are about to get slammed with premium hikes, in some cases more than $1,000 a month, and she’s still refusing to support permanently extending these tax credits,” said Emily Yeatts, Affordable Virginia Campaign Director. “A one-year patch is political theater, not a real solution. Families in Hampton Roads deserve stability, and Rep. Kiggans needs to stop prioritizing billionaires’ tax breaks over her own constituents’ health care. We are calling on Rep. Jen Kiggans to permanently extend these Affordable Care Act tax credits and reopen the government.”